Wordless Wednesday - Birthday Boy

This post is linked at A Lot of Loves and 5 Minutes for Mom

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What's Cooking Wednesday - The BBQ Potluck Edition

These recipes make a LOT.  They are perfect for large backyard bbqs or to take when you are going to a big potluck.  All are infinitely "tweakable".  I've given you exactly what I did as close as possible.  Sorry for the horrible pictures.  I had already put everything away before I took pictures.


Slow Cooker Baked Beans
Adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 1/2 bags (454 g) of white beans (navy beans)
1/2 pack of bacon, diced (but not too fine)
1 onion, diced
1/2 bottle of Heinz chili sauce
2 Tbsp grainy mustard
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup

Soak beans overnight.  Drain any remaining water.  Put beans in your slow cooker & add 3 cups of water.  Cook on high for 2 1/2 hours or until beans are starting to get tender.

Fry bacon & onions over medium heat until the onions are soft and the bacon is starting to cook.  Add bacon & onions to beans once the beans are starting to get tender.

Turn slowcooker to low and continue to cook.  After another hour add remaining ingredients.  Cook one more hour.  Total cooking time is about 4 1/2 to 5 hours.

Recipe Notes:  It is crucial that you do NOT put any salt or acid (tomato) in with your beans until after they are starting to soften or they will never soften.  Remember that every slow cooker is different so your beans may take more/less time.

Broccoli Salad
Adapted from Allrecipes.com
2 large heads of brocolli cut into bite size pieces (6 - 8 cups)
1/2 a red onion, chopped
6 strips of bacon, fried crisp & cut into pieces
3/4 cup Craisins
1/2 cup salted sunflower seeds
1 cup reduced fat mayo
1 cup Miracle Whip
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Mix mayo, Miracle Whip, sugar and red wine vinegar.  Stir in to chopped broccoli and onion.  Use just enough to coat broccoli.  Save any extra.  Put in the refrigerator over night to meld flavors.

Mix in Craisins, sunflower seeds and bacon right before you serve the salad.  Use any extra dressing if needed.

Recipe Notes: Mixing at the last minute keeps the bacon and the sunflower seeds crunchy.



Potato Salad
Adapted from Allrecipes.com

5 lb bag yellow potatoes, cut into large cubes
6 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 1/2 cups reduced fat cheddar shreds
1/2 - 3/4 pack of bacon, fried crisp & chopped
1 cup broccoli florets chopped (raw)
1 bottle reduced fat Ranch dressing
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper

Boil potato cubes until just tender.  Cool.  Mix all ingredients except bacon and let sit in the refrigerator for an hour or two.  Mix in bacon right before serving.

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Top 10 Tuesday - Top 10 Things I Wish I Could Change About Myself

All in all I'm pretty happy with me (most of the time) but there are a few things that I wish I could change (with little to no effort of course!).

1. I wish I could lose 10 pounds and keep it off.  - I realize that I could do this if I was super strict with my diet and if I started going to the gym every day again but really....I like having a life.  Life is too short to skip dessert & get up at 5 am!
2. I wish I could get happy with how I look.  - Since #1 is NOT going to happy (probably) then I would love to be able to look in the mirror and not care.  I really hope that one day I am able to be 100% happy in my own skin.  Not there today but I hope that one day it WILL happen.
3. I wish I was more patient. - I am soooo not a patient person.  I poke, prod, hurry, shush, etc because I can not wait for something to happen in it's own time.
4. I wish I could be a better stepparent. - I would say that I am better than I was 6 months ago but still not great.  It's definitely a work in progress.
5. I wish I were athletically inclined.  - I am soooooo not athletically inclined.  I can barely walk without falling down much less do anything that takes coordination.  Dewey would love it if I learned how to ski.  I am deathly afraid because I am SURE I will crash into a tree.  
6. I wish I was less critical of people.  - I hold people up to a high standard.  I justify this by saying that I never expect people to do things that I wouldn't do.  While that's true, it's not overly fair because everyone is different & have different lives/responsibilities.  
7. I wish I was better at keeping up with my friends. - I do an okay job but I could be better.  I blog so I put lots of info out into the world....sometimes I think this is detrimental to keeping up with friends all the time because I don't end up calling & emailing a single person that often.
8. I wish I was more creative. - I'm an engineer, what can I say?  Our house looks very similar today to what it looked like when we bought it 3 years ago.  I really want to decorate it but I have no idea where to even start. 
9. I wish I had curly hair. - I love my hair but I have ALWAYS wanted curly hair.....like the girl on the TV show Felicity.  This could explain why I had so many bad perms in high school.  Ugh....perms.
10. I wish I could be more carefree & spontaneous. - I've gotten a bit better at rolling with the punches but there is a reason that Dewey calls me "Polly Planner".

So are there any things that you would like to change about yourself?

This post was linked up over at Oh Amanda.  Head on over to see more Top 10 Tuesday posts.

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Happy Birthday Evan!

My little man is 3 today.  I can't believe he is getting so big! It seems like just yesterday that I woke up at 5am because my water broke.  He decided he wasn't quite ready to come out because he didn't make his appearance until 11pm that night.

These days he is a wonderful mix of loving little boy, jokey jokester & little terror.  Every day he is learning something new and making me shake my head at his newest antics.  In the past three years, I've also grown up a lot and learned this wonderful job of being a mommy.  I've started to relax a bit and not worry as much (I know that Dewey will shake his head at this because he still says I worry entirely too much).  I still want to wrap him in bubble wrap sometimes so that I can make sure he is safe but I know that he needs to experience the world to learn.  It just hurts my heart to think that he might get an "ouchy" in the process.  All in all....we couldn't even imagine life without him.  He is a little guy who makes a big difference in our lives.

Okay....enough sappy mama talk!  On with the party pics!

We had lots of family & friends over yesterday to celebrate with us.  Much fun & food was had by all....well everyone except Evan.  All he ate was watermelon, chips & a huge cupcake.  Oh well....it was his birthday!

He licked all the icing off & then reached for another cupcake.  Thankfully I caught him before he actually got another one.  

Shawna & Kali enjoying their cupcakes.

Shawn & Kohen....yum!

Heather & Colleen

Kali is such a cutie!

Presents!  Highlights included a LiteBrite (which was one of my most "wanted" toys that I never got as a child....hmmmm), a bug vacuum, Buzz Lightyear, Thomas the Train, sports equipment, Weeride push bike, and on & on.

Martin, Ian, Colleen & Heather....  Emma's hiding around there somewhere....

Evan attacking everyone with a very spitty party horn/blowy thing....what are those things called anyway????

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Happy Graduation, Will!

This weekend has been so busy that I have lots to post about.  I don't have time to upload all the pics tonight so I will post over the next few days!

Will graduated from sixth grade last week.  He is very glad to be done with Elementary School and heading to Middle School.  He's a little worried that next year might be harder than sixth grade but I think he's ready for the challenge.  This year has been an up and down year with respect to grades & school but I have faith that if he just focusses he will do great!

He's getting to be so handsome!

Me & Willsy

Out comes the bunny years

Dewey is very much the proud Dad!  Don't they look alike?

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Basement Reno Update

So we are almost done with our basement reno.  The list of what is left to be done is very short (touch up painting, installing backordered lights & mirrors and installing an additional pot light above the tub).  Now I have to start decorating it & figuring out what furniture to put down there.

Here's the problem....I'm an engineer.  I'm not really all that creative & I don't have a "decorator" bone in my body.  Thankfully I can do some of it without messing anything up too bad.  Tonight I headed to Ikea to get some necessities for Evan's playroom.

I started out with an Expedit bookcase in white to store all his toys.

Then I added some nice purple plastic bins to hold his little toys....or at least I thought they were purple...the website says they are "transparent"....boring!

Then I bought a blue kid's table for Evan with 4 little green stools.  Not sure if Dewey will let us keep it though b/c I'm not sure if we'll have room for it after Evan get's his train table (that we're getting as a hand me down from his friend Carson).

Add in two sets of curtains, a lamp and a play tent & you've got a huge shopping trip.


Oh....and did I mention that Evan and I went by ourselves?  Yep....it was....stellar (can you hear the sarcasm?)  I found every thing pretty easily but that bookshelf comes in 3 boxes, weighs about 230 lbs and is about 6 feet long.  So at one point I was pushing Evan in one cart & pulling a 300+ pound cart behind me.  Tons of Ikea workers walked right past me without asking if they could help or even acknowledging my presence.  I finally point blank asked someone to help.  She pushed the big cart up to the till but then left.  I got everything paid for & then reloaded everything (they piled it all at the end of the register) while 3 workers stood their and chatted right next to me.  Not one of them tried to help.

I asked them to call someone to help load my car.  It took no time for him to get there but he barely even grunted in my direction.  I can't complain too much b/c he lifted everything into my car but still...

Really....how hard is it to be civil to your customers?  Does it really make your day go by so much faster when you are rude?????

Okay...rant over.  I will post pictures of the basement soon!

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Wordless Wednesday - Big Boy Hair

We tend to go entirely too long between haircuts for Evan.  In the summer, shorter is definitely easier.  Lately he likes to let Dewey put gel in his hair so that he has big boy hair.  Too cute!

Ready to get his hair "did"

What are you doing up there??????

Smiles all around. He calls this his "handsome hair"

Check out more Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom, A Lot of Loves and A Daily Dose of Toni

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Top Ten Tuesday - Camping Essentials

So I must admit that there are WAY more than 10 things you need when you go camping.  I thought I would list a few things that you might not think of that come in very handy.
 

1.  Baby Wipes (our favorite are Huggies brand) - These are so useful in so many situations!  You can use them to remove makeup (whatever is left from when you put it on while in civilization), give yourself a "bath" (hey it feels better than nothing!) & cleaning.  I like them because they are much more gentle than Wet Ones or antibacterial wipes.  I think we all go a bit overboard on that whole antibacterial thing anyway!

2.  Vinyl Tablecloth & Clips - Most campgrounds furnish a picnic table for your use which is good.  Unfortunately they can be anywhere from brand new to old as dirt.  It is nearly impossible to "clean" an old picnic table.  That's when you whip out your handy dandy vinyl tablecloth & clip it to the table.  You can leave it there throughout your camping trip.  Just wipe it off as needed. 

3.  Small Plastic Grocery Bags - I know, I know....we aren't supposed to use those anymore BUT if you do....bundle them up & take them with you camping.  Since they are so small you can fill them with garbage & take them to the community garbage can frequently.  This keeps smells/bugs/bears (eep!) out of your campsite.

4.  White Noise Maker - Okay, so this may sound like a weird item BUT it is essential if you have small children.  It blocks out all the noise of birds, screaming kids, loud drunk campers at the next campsite, etc.  It is a life saver!

5.  Portable Espresso Maker or Coffee Percolator - I must admit that I like the espresso maker better.  Brew a double, add some Bailey's and you are ready for the day.  The percolator also makes great coffee if you want to make more than one cup at a time.  Do NOT underestimate your need of coffee.  After a night or two of late night campfire coupled with children up at the crack of dawn b/c it's so light out....it is essential! 

6.  Headlamps - Headlamps are cheap and they are way more useful than a flashlight.  You put it on your head & you can use your hands for carrying things/kids/your drink/etc.

 

 

 7.  Activities - If the weather is beautiful, it's usually enough for the kids to run around outside & play.  If it's raining....you better be prepared.  We always have 2 or 3 card games & a bag full of toys for Evan.  Plastic dinosaurs make a great camping toy because they can easily be washed before returning to the "home" toy bin.  If you have a GPS, check out geocaching.  We haven't done it in a few years but it is really fun.  You go to the website & download the coordinates of a cache to you GPS.  Then you find it.  Usually you leave a trinket in the cache & take something that was there with you.  You sign the logbook & then put the cache back exactly where you find it.  Great activity with kids as long as you do the easy caches....when they list them as hard they aren't lying & you might have to climb a mountain to get to it!!! 

8.   Pie Irons - Not sure if this is what everyone calls them but....these are the 2 cast iron plates on long sticks that hook together to squish bread & filling between them.  We use them to make campfire pizzas which are a HUGE hit with the kids.  Two pieces of whole wheat bread, pizza sauce, salami & cheese between the pie irons & toasted in the fire.  YUM!

 

9.  Lots & Lots of Clothes - If you ever go camping in Alberta or the mountains.....take lots of clothes.  I don't care if it's July & it has been hot for weeks....you still need to bring long pants & a coat.  We have finally learned this lesson after many cold camping trips.  Being outside even when it's not THAT cold feels much colder than when you can go indoors. 

10.  A Camper - Okay, so you don't NEED a camper/trailer but I LOVE ours.  It makes things so much easier.  I wouldn't give anything for it.  We love camping but I don't know if we would do it if we had to tent. I know lots of people that do but I just don't think I could do it.

So....do you camp?  I would love to hear all about it!

 This post is for Top 10 Tuesday over at Oh Amanda.  Definitely go check out her lovely blog & all the Top 10 Tuesday posts!

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Happy Father's Day!

We decided to celebrate this Father's Day with a camping trip.  We haven't been very organized about this year's camping season so we don't have too much booked.  When some friends of ours asked if we wanted to go camping this weekend, we jumped at the chance.  Thankfully, the crappy, rainy weather Calgary has been experience broke so that we had a wonderful, sunny weekend.

We decided to visit the Wyndham-Carseland provincial park since it is pretty close to Calgary and right on the Bow River.  It was my first time visiting & I want to go back soon.  Since it's right by the river, there are tons of trees.  The birds seem to really like all the trees b/c we got woken up each morning by a cacophony of bird calls/songs.

Now....on with the pictures!

Evan had lots of kids his age there to play with this weekend.  He and James (2) played pretty well though Evan still does NOT like to share.  *sigh*

Stovetop espresso maker is the best camping gadget ever!

Dewey had to take Will & Nicole back into Calgary on Saturday for Super Soccer Saturday.  Evan was still asleep when they left so he stayed behind with me.  He was VERY unhappy about that when he found out.  I made it (mostly) better with smiley pancakes.

Evan is still quite cautious on the playground (he gets that from me) but he is getting more brave.

He even went down the really big slide (though I still had to catch him at the bottom).

All this camping fun really tires a guy out!

There was a little store at the campground that sold ice cream....YUM!

Evan wore quite a bit of his.

 Walking back....that's me with Evan on my back (on the right)

Nicole....eating watermelon

Evan had a great outdoor nap while we packed up the campsite. Such a great weekend!

How did you celebrate Father's Day?

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What's Cooking Wednesday - Waffles

I completely forgot to take a picture of the waffles but I'm sure you can imagine....they look like waffles.  We only have "big" breakfasts on weekends.  We usually have eggs one day and pancakes the other day.  Eventually that gets a bit old so I try to change it up occasionally.  Waffles are a big hit because they're different but not THAT different.

Waffles
Adapted from Waffles II from Allrecipes.com

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
6 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 eggs, separated

Heat your waffle iron.  Mix the flours, baking powder, salt & sugar together well (you can also sift them together).  Separate the eggs.  Mix the milk, oil & egg yolks together.  Pour into the flour mixture and mix well.  Beat the egg whites until they have soft peaks.  Fold egg whites into the waffle batter.

Spray your waffle iron with non-stick spray if needed.  Pour batter into waffle iron & cook until golden brown.

Recipe Notes:  These are light and crispy waffles.  They get big thumbs up from everyone.  This makes 4 or 5 eight inch round waffles.

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Wordless Wednesday - Forgotten May Long Weekend Camping Photo

Linked up at 5 Minutes for Mom and A Lot of Loves.  Be sure to visit both sites to see more Wordless Wednesday or Wednesday of Few Words posts!!!!

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Top Ten Tuesday - Places I Want to Visit

Our big plan (or at least mine) was to go to Italy for our 5 year wedding anniversary.  As you saw here our anniversary has come and gone and I'm still here.  Real life got in the way and we decided to finish our basement this year instead of taking a big trip.  I figured I could have some fun & at least travel in my imagination....and in my list!

1. Tuscany region, Italy - Ever since I saw Under The Tuscan Sun, I have wanted to go to Italy.  Heck, I would love to move there!  Good food and wine are two of my favorite things which is one of the many reasons Tuscany is top of my list.
2. Paris, France - Dewey got to go to Paris for work a couple of years ago.  I am STILL jealous.  Paris has always been one of my top places I want to visit.
3. New Zealand - I have quite a few friends who have spun stories of their amazing trips to New Zealand.  Now I have wonderful friends that live there so it's moved even higher on my list.
4. Greece - The food, the sun, the beaches.  Need I say more?
5. Australia - Yes, I know it's a ginormous country.  I would be willing to go to just about any where.
6. Bora Bora - Beautiful, beachy. romantic.....yes, please!
7. Prague, Czech Republic - I've heard wonderful things about Eastern Europe.  It's beautiful & still relatively reasonably priced for Europe.  
8. Africa - Yes, I know it is a continent made up of lots of countries (not all of which are exactly safe for travel).  What I really want to do is go on Safari.  My friends, Andrea & Diana, went on safari with their husbands & it sounds REALLY cool.  I would spend the whole time we were gone worrying that we would get eaten by a lion but that is TOTALLY beside the point.
9. London, England - So, so much history in London & I would love to see it.
10. Austin, Tx; San Francisco, CA; New York, NY; New Orleans, LA -  All places that I have already been but that I LOVE & would like to go back to ASAP.  Hmmmm....they are all places with awesome food....seeing a pattern?

Where would YOU like to go?

Head over to Oh Amanada to see other Top 10 Tuesday posts!

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Photo Weekend in Review

We had a glorious weekend here in Calgary.  The rain finally stopped & the sun came out.  I didn't let the fact that I have felt one step away from a cold for the last week stop me.  We took full advantage of the beautiful weather because if the weather man is to be believed it's back to cold & rain tomorrow. *Sigh*

On Saturday we went to the Calgary Zoo to see the new Dinosaur exhibit.  They move & roar like "real" dinosaurs.  Evan likes them except he thinks they are too loud.

The baby giraffe is still trying to figure out how to use his long, long legs.

On Sunday, Evan and I hung out at home while Dewey took care of some band business & found us a new TV set up for the soon to be finished basement (Yay!).

My beautiful hanging basket flowers.

Our pretty front step.

Playing with chalks and chalk paint.  I can't wait until the porta potty and the dumpster are gone!

Evan gathered ingredients to make "soup" in the back yard. 

Evan's soup kitchen. His sand table is completely empty b/c all the sand is in all these buckets and pots. Unfortunately he's put all kinds of leaves, grass, etc in it so it STINKS.  Oh well, he thinks it's the funnest thing EVER.

Angry popsicle boy.  He didn't want to wear "mine short pants" but I made him.

So how was your weekend?  

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