Friday night movies and a Sunday in the land of marine

what more could you ask for out of a weekend...besides dollar store princess high heels.

Friday night is our night to watch movies around here. Lady A gets to pick one movie(usually a Diego action packed adventure) and Mister and I usually pick 2 and get through 1.  When we started our "year of no TV" oh those so many weeks (5) ago we were renting from Blockbuster but quickly realized that it was costing about $24 each weekend and for that price we could have upgraded our cable.  So off to the library I go each Wednesday to pick out our movies of course with the help of Lady A.  The branch that I visit doesn't really have the best selection but we try to make the most of it.  This weekend we popped our popcorn, poured our peach fizzy drink and watched Cinderelmo...which was quite entertaining for all 3 of us. Mister and I watched the Life and Death of Peter Sellers.  I really enjoyed this movie considering I didn't have a clue who Peter Sellers was before the movie but like I said we make the best of our choices. The movie that we didn't watch was Capote so I guess we will be renuing it until next movie night...it makes my choosing a little easier for next week.

 We spent the day today at Marineland in Niagara Falls and we had the best fall weather for our day outside.  Lady A had been there with us earlier this summer and has been chatting about it ever since (although it didn't appear that she was enjoying her self at the time).  This time she loved every minute of it..which made the steep admission a little easier to handle.  We watched the dolphin show TWICE and rode the ladybug roller coaster FOUR times and ate junk food pretty much all day.  What more could a kid ask for... well she did have some other demands that we refused to fill but it was a great day for all of us.

Lady A and I made a litre of yogurt today....well actually we started it last night and finally were able to eat it today.  Thanks 

to my grandma for donating the yogurt making machine it was a relatively easy process.  We used the recipe in the instruction booklet.

                         31/2 cups homo milk

                            1/2 cup dry fat free milk

                            1/2 cup yogurt (for a starter)

Heat milk and powdered milk until close to a boil and then put the pot in cold water to bring the mixture to room temp.  Next you stir in the yogurt and and throw the whole thing into what looks like a plastic thermos that plugs in.  Leave it in the machine for 4-12 hours depending on how bitter you like it........ we only left it in for 4 hours because the bitterness of plain yogurt drives me nuts. After that you put it in the fridge for 2 hours min and VOILA you have yogurt.  I must admit that ours had a wonderful custardy taste but the texture was quite distgusting...sort of like white school glue.  I 

have a feeling it has something to do with the powdered milk..... maybe i put in too much.  My task for tonight is searching online to solve my yogurt texture mystery.  I do love being able to make things from scratch and buy as little packaged goods as possible.  I lay in bed thinking last night about the benefits of  making my own yogurt as opposed to buying it and I came to the conclusion that I really just like the idea of knowing that I am having a hand in my family's health and that I am somehow nurturing a healthy attitude towards food for Lady A.  

She helped make her breakfast this morning, of course including the yogurt which she referred to as "slimey" and only had 2 mouthfuls of.  I choked mine back because I was trying to set a good example but I'm sure 

my face was telling a different story as I was exclaiming "oh this is delicious"......oh the things we do for our kids.  

Is it fun or is it child labour???

In an effort to organize my life I am going to start blogging again... and I know that all of my faithful readers are jumping out of their computer chairs with joy.  My life is so full of excitement and change right now that I feel like I should be documenting it (I guess a plain old journal would have done the trick).

We have eliminated TV from our home for a one year experiment (except for Friday night movie night) in an effort to become more creative as a family a la Soulemama and her book The Creative Family .   It has only been a month so far and I think we are all doing really well except for the minor freakouts that quickly pass with the suggestion of playing Mr. Potatoe Head.  I am hoping to include pics of our daily creativity and fun because I am finding that without TV we all have really become more imaginative and willing to participate in life....which always makes for hilarious pictures.  

Today we spent a lot of time playing in the sink washing dishes.  Lady A decided that it was essential that she pull her little chair up to my tiny sink area to wash the dishes and play in the sink, so I let her have at it.  She spent so much time scrubbing the pots (for fun)that they actually came clean for once. She also spent a lot of time dumping large amounts of water out of the sink and onto the floor.  I am certain that I am now going to have to battle for a place at the sink every time the dishes need to be done.  I tried handing her the dishtowel so that she could feel important with the ever so  helpful job of drying but she quickly threw it to the ground yelling "NO YIKE IT" and hopped back up on her chair.  I think we both learned something today....Lady A learned the obvious fun factor of playing in the water and I learned that fun at the sink actually equals a lot of mother labour in the clean up department.

 

anybody else having problems????

What a day I have had already today.
1. Lost my wallet while ava and I were playing at the park
2. Only realized my wallet was lost after having a ton of groceries rung up by the cashier at the grocery store
3.retraced my steps with a screaming, hungry and tired (almost) 2year old
4. came home to admit my loss to my husband.... he promptly went out to retrace my steps again
5. we both gave up looking and began to cancel cards...... i found out that i keep way too many cards for ava and I in my wallet
6. Realized that I had a message on my phone.........when did that get there????
7. Someone had found my wallet.... THANK YOU GOD and so sri went right out to pick it up
8. everything was still in there............i am so so so so so grateful
9. I am having a super hard time uploading pictures onto my blog
10. I have to finish up the changeroom curtains for NEw Horizons Thrift Shop.... and I seem to be running out of inspiration

is there anything as wonderful?

The moment I pull into the parking lot of my local thrift store my heart starts to race. I feel anxious and excited at the same time. Anxious (I'm kind of ashamed to admit) because I feel like people are snapping up the items of my dreams while I am in the parking lot getting ready to go in or even in the next aisle to me .... it must be an illness. But the excitement far outweighs anything else. The thrill of walking down a cluttered narrow little path and coming across the greatest tea towel or adorable gravy boat ..... I really do promise pictures will come eventually.... is enough to make even the worst day turn into a basket of delights.
I am really excited about the re-opening of the New Horizons Thirft Shop . I have been asked to make the curtains for the changeroom... I was thinking about piecing together jeans and sweatshirts in sort of like a quilt but I'm not really sure that it is a feasible idea... I should really figure that out since I have to have them done for MOnday.
Today is going to be a day of wiping noses, changing bums and breaking up toddler disputes.... I will hold close to me the feeling of treasure hunting in hopes it gets me through the day, or at least until Sri gets home (a flair for the dramatic I would say)

Getting started

I wonder if anyone else worries and obsesses over how to set up their blog and what to post for their first posting. I have been putting off starting this blog because I was overwhelmed with all of the choices but now that I have started I feel like I will be adding embellishments and lord knows what before you know it.
This is the best time to blog (6am)....everyone is still sleeping (so no little fingers trying to bang on the laptop). I often used to wonder why my mom got up so early to do work and now I know the secret. The joy of having TIME TO YOURSELF....wow....what a precious commodity. If I can manage it I am going to wake up early every morning to try and get a posting in before the baby wakes up (and the dog and husband for that matter).
I think I will also use this time in the mornings to plan the meals for the day. I am reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan and it has really made me think about what kinds of foods we are putting into our bodies... "you are what you eat eats" and according to his first 4 chapters of the book when you eat feedlot beef (I assume that is what all the grocery stores sell) you can't even imagine what you are eating.... it includes quite a bit of sterilized manure and hormones...yummy. I can't bear the thought of feeding that to my little Ava or Sri and I for that matter.
Tomorrow will bring promises of pictures, creativity and random rambling (as evidenced today) but I feel like I have kicked procrastination to the curb and am welcoming in a new more organized and productive ME. Lets hope it sticks.