Pickle Monster

It would only be fitting that my child, at the ripe old age of 8 months, would like pickles!
She is eating mostly what we do at meal times. Will try anything, and so far, hasn't really turned her nose up at anything.
So last night at dinner as I was eating my pickle, someone wanted to try it. I figured it would have been too sour, and we did see a pucker face or two, but she then chowed down the rest of the pickle. I am sure the coldness helped those poor gums.

Menu Planning Monday - August 30th

Another Monday is already upon us.

Lots of great meals were had last week. And Sunday, was shepperd's pie, done in my cast iron skillet (which worked fantabulously!!!), and made with both regular potatoes and sweet potatoes-very yummy!

This week of course looks promising, we are going to be eating:
Monday: Sausages, spaghetti squash bake and big salad
Tuesday: Jambalaya
Wednesday: Herb crusted Cod & cabbage rolls
Thursday: Turkey Chilli & Cornbread
Friday: Tuna pasta bake
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: BBQ, probably some steaks

Menu Planning Monday

Another week, another Monday, another menu plan.

Last week was all over the place and the menu definitely changed with all the fresh stuff bought at the market. Mmmm...tons of fresh veggies and salads.

This week is shaping up to a be a relaxing one. Which is much needed.
Audra has been sleeping better at night, or at least from 8pm on, which excites me greatly! Fingers crossed it stays that way.

Have some cleaning, organizing and shuffling of spaces on the to-do list. Can't wait to tackle some kitchen cupboards, a little re-purposing downstairs in my "corner", moving my sewing table around, and cleaning out Audra's clothes for selling and donations. How many clothes does one small person really need? We got some hand-me-downs from our friend Sequoia, so have to go through those.


Our eats for the week will include:
Monday: tortiere, green bean casserole and Big salads
Tuesday: slow cooked pork roast, potatoes and veggies
Wednesday: turkey "supper dish"
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: mushroom burgers & sweet potato fries
Saturday: salmon skewers & homemade cabbage rolls
Sunday: undecided still (lol)

A yummy week indeed. Heres to a nice relaxing and organized week.

Pickles, pickles, yum

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I LOVE pickles. So one of my goals for this summer was to do some canning. I have done jam, but never really any vegetables.
Thought all those cucumbers would be perfect to try my hand at canning them. And for good measure thought I would do jars of pickled beans and see how those turn out.



So fingers crossed all those lovely canned items will taste fantastic!

Farmers markets

I heart, heart, heart farmers markets. I especially love this time of year when they are packed full of great fruit and vegetables. The colours, the size, the bounty-it's fantastic. The chef in me sees all the possiblities.
It was Audra's first trip up to Waterloo and the St Jacob's Market. One of my fav's. In the summer it's even bigger as all the vendors line up outside. It was crazy busy, but a good day with Grammy and Aunt Kat, and thankfully the weather held out.





Yes, those are honking radishes! Can't wait to put those in some salads. In addition to the colourful veg, stocked up on green beans, cukes, nectarines, and so many more things.

Results of Eating

There isn't much that Audra won't eat. She is always willing to try whatever you put in front of her. She LOVES fruit, even the sour orange she had the other day. The puckered face was definitely a hoot!
Strawberries and peaches are some of her favourites, and the strawberry makes the biggest mess. She looks like she belongs on the opening of True Blood! lol


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I tested my sewing capabilities on the little bird from Spool, and he turned out ok. Not wonderful, but Audra seemed to like him. I love the look on her face, and then, like everything else, shoved in her mouth!

Shopping til we dropped

Went across the border yesterday to do some state side shopping. Haven't been since having Audra. The last time I went over was a day before I went into labor!
We, me and the BFF were on the hunt for bridesmaid dresses. Off to David's Bridal we went, and I just have to say, all the hype, definitely not worth it.



We found a dress we liked, but whether we go with it or not is yet to been seen. There was a girl at the store picking up her dress and we had to look twice, even three times, as she was so young! It was shocking. But we found the help to be not helpful, and the selection just wasnt' all that great. Can't always believe the hype.

We did some shopping and of course went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner, and by 8pm, were offically shopped out. Audra had a good day and night with her grandparents and dad, but of course was so excited to see mom. (I had found a onesie at Carter's that said "My Mom is my Best Friend" and I feel that statement is so true! Or at least for now, I am sure someday, not so much! lol)

Mass Produced

A not so impressed self went over to Ikea recently to check out the "play" food that they are currently selling. To my relief, cheap as it is, it's not fantastic. I was a little worried, thinking, great, Ikea is mass producing felt play food, who is going to want to buy mine? But it's not just felt, it's cloth and fabric, and while the little baskets are neat, and the fruit and veggies aren't too bad, the other set is just sad. Put my mind at ease. It will also maybe help my cause, as people will be more aware of the play food market, and want to buy their children quality homemade items (fingers crossed! lol)

Menu planning Mondays

I have come across this great site http://orgjunkie.com, and Laura does these fantastic Menu Planned Mondays. It is exactly what it sounds like, a whole community of people sharing their weekly meal ideas.

I LOVE menu planning. It's something that I always did while working, it definitely helped us stay fed and organized. And being home I have continued to do it, and it helps me stay organized and really makes tackling grocery shopping with a seven month old, so much easier.



This week we are eating:
Monday: Cauliflower Soup & Rice Balls
Tuesday: Perogies & Roasted Broccoli
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Salmon skewers & pasta
Friday: Mushroom burgers and sweet potato fries
Saturday: (big, honking) steaks
Sunday: Supper dish

Mmm mmm mmm. Sounds like it will be a great week. I have been trying to plan healthier meals for all of us, since Audra pretty much eats what we do. I make sure there are lots of veggies every meal, so if she can't have the meat portion, she will at least get the veg and I will find other protein for her. She will be excited for the steak. It has become her favouirte meal! It's great watching her eat it without teeth.

Surfing the net

There is a website that | am currently in love with. Luv in the mommyhood. It's a blog that has fantastic links, tutorials, posts, and she posts the most amazing picutes for her weekend wishes.

In Shannon's words.....


luvinthemommyhood is a place to give moms a one stop shop of what i think makes life in the mommyhood fabulous and inspiring. luvinthemommyhood is your source for a wealth of information ranging from handmade & repurposing projects, mommyhood survival tips, to photography, music and books. luvinthemommyhood serves it up with humour and a dose of daily life in the mommyhood - there’s something for everyone in this friendly neighbourhood!

Just looking at the site makes me want to be creative. I have neglected my poor sewing machine the past week, and I think I have heard it calling my name every night. It was definitely lonely. I fixed that problem yesterday. I worked on a few of the pages for Audra's quiet book. I am really happy with the progress. I have 8 pages currently done and think I will get another couple done before starting to actually make it into a book.

I'm not sure if it's because of the newer laptop, the mom factor or just wanting to be more creative, but there are so many wonderful sites and blogs that I find so inspiring. Add twitter and I could be gone for hours!

August days

August has rolled in and it's still hot and humid. We don't have any major plans for the month. Grandparents anniversary and some birthdays but nothing too crazy on the calendar.

Audra attended her first Miller family reunion, and of course was passed around to everyone. She also stayed overnight at her grandparents so Jamie and I could go out and see a movie. It was nice. Love her to death, but that was also the very first night, in 7 months that I got to sleep through the night, and didn't have to get up and feed someone or even pump. It was wonderful. I think I have forgotten what a full night sleep is.

We went out for dinner as a family and it was sweet. Audra sat and ate and was really great at the restaurant. She's great when we are out, it's only when she's at home she can be miserable. What can you do?!

Her 6 month shots went well (yes, we were a little behind on those). She barely flinched when geting them both, which is a good thing. And as the months keep going by, we are clearly doing everything right with her MCAD, which makes me extremely happy. Shots have not bothered her, she has managed to not get sick, and remained in fine health, which has kept her condition in check. She really didn't grow much in length, (who are we kidding? she is not going to be a tall giant!) but her weight was a good gain since our last visit and she now weighs 17 pounds, 1 ounce. She is around the 60th percentile for weight, which is great. Not too small, not too large.
Now if those teeth would just come in and help us out with those fussy periods! lol.