Hallowe'en Party

Snippets from the Halloween Party. (There would have been more, and better, pictures, had I used my flash, but flashes are so intrusive! A plain old camera is quite bad enough...)

The Wicked Witch of the West and the Ladybug (aka Adam and Eliana) have a Serious Discussion.
Skeleton Baby ponders.
Food time. Nom.
Cutest ladybug on earth!
Mr. Construction Dude.
Careful, you two. The Wicked Witch is lurking. Better treat that Flying Monkey with due care and caution!
Panda Boy ponders.
As does Chicken Girl...

Not sure what Stephen said to earn that look...
But help with the dishes is always welcome!

Friday Drop-in at the New Old Firehall

While there are any number of fun things to do at the Firehall...

Snuggling...

Checking out the play food...

(Willa was quite sure it was a strawberry. I am pretty sure it's the top of a plastic hamburger bun.)
Sliding... (and thinking...)
Climbing and crowing...
Or just standing there, taking in all the possibilities...
...as far as Dominic was concerned,
the Firehall is nothing more than that AMAZING place
with all those AMAZING
And WONDERFUL

ride-on toys!!!

It gets so that a boy just can't decide which of all that wonderfulness to park his wee butt upon... Firetruck or tricycle? Decisions, decisions...
A fun time was had by all. We will be going back!

Bellybutton Baby

Whatever's happening here is greatly entertaining. Eliana thinks it's HYSTERICAL, and Ella is...

Ella is a girl with a mission: Spot That Bellybutton!

Hallowe'en Bingo

I found the cutest matching game on the Internet a few days ago. Found it, printed it up, mounted it on orange card stock and laminated it with The Caregiver's Friend, clear Con-tact paper.

Cute, no? The print-out came with orange-and-black striped squares for marking off the matched squares, but I suspected they would be too light and easily nudged out of place, and so opted for pennies. Any children old enough to play this game will not be putting them in their mouths.

(And even if they happen to, they are not looking to swallow it...)
Eliana, Milan and I enjoyed a few happy rounds after the babies were in bed, and before their Big-Kid Quiet Time.
If you're interested, you can find the game here.

DnD

Not that place down on Colonel By. Around here, DnD is Dominic and the Dog. Dominic does love the dog. She's just so interesting!!

Indie is remarkably patient with the tots, mostly because she seems -- once she's greeted them in the morning, dutifully washed their ears and checked for breakfast leftovers -- to be utterly oblivious to them...

"Baby on my back? No, I'm playing with my ducks."


And Dominic? Who knows what he's thinking... but I'm guessing it's mischief!

Menu Monday

Monday: Egg-fried rice, naan, cucumber bits
Everyone liked it well enough.

Tuesday: Swedish meatballs on egg noodles with broccoli
Popular, cheerfully chowed down by all. The one surprise? Willa. Willa, our dedicated Carb Queen, eschewed the noodles (!!!) in favour of "BROCCOLI! BROCCOLI!!" She had three large servings of broccoli, one modest one of noodles. If she poops green speckles for two days, we'll know why...

Wednesday: Carrot salad, herbed rice, deep-fried tofu sticks (dipped in mayo)
Eliana particularly enjoyed the carrot salad. The rest of them munched it all down without comment. :)

Thursday: Greek potatoes, chicken and rice with mustard cream sauce, spinach dahl
The children were largely indifferent to the potatoes. Willa actively liked the dahl, while the others appeared to tolerate it because it was in the same bowl as the chicken and rice. The chicken and rice was very popular. Everyone had two or three helpings.

Friday: Lentil stew, biscuits

Found them!

Pretty flashy, huh? You'd think it would be hard to lose something this, er, bright. But lose one we did, for a good 24 hours. It wasn't in her bin, where I expected it to be, nor in any of the likely spots: under a piece of furniture, on the stairs, in a toy bin.
But wait! Did something just glitter in the dog's crate?
Let's take a closer look... Yes, yes that's where it was.
And while the culprit may seem to be clear, the evidence is merely circumstantial. A critical piece of missing data is the fact that Dominic and Nora both looooooove to drop things through the bars and into the dog's house.

We may never know who was responsible for the purloined bling, but Willa is very happy to have them back!

Fun Website

While reading a favourite book this morning, I noticed for the first time the website URL in the back cover. Given how much the children enjoy this one bright book, we thought we'd check it out.

What a cute site!

In addition to the shop, there are lots of activity sheets you can download. There are songs and stories to listen to. There's a fun Halloween e-card.

But the part Willa and Dominic enjoyed most were the videos.

"Moosic!"

We love moosic around here...

New Baby

Ella came to visit today! Ella will be joining us full-time in January; in the meantime, she is spending her Mondays getting used to her compatriots. (It's still "Baby Monday", though really, with every passing week it's steadily turning into "Regular Old Toddler Time".)

You know, it would have been better if I'd thought to bring my camera on our outing to the Glebe. If I had, you might have been treated to Ella's giant grin when I played peek with them at the bank, or her bouncing glee every time we passed a dog. "Woooof! Woooof!"

Instead, I got pictures at lunch time, when she was tiiiiiiiiiiiired.... Poor droopy girl.


She did enjoy our story time. Seems she loves books, so I'd say that even exhausted, Ella fits in just fine!

Menu Monday

Monday: Hot and sour soup (only mildly 'hot'), made with tofu, over rice.

Not a hit. We won't bother with this one for a while!

Tuesday: Borscht, home-made oatmeal bread.

Milan ate his required two (large) spoonfuls stoically, then declared himself 'done'. Eliana managed a respectable portion, but alternated between stating how much she liked it and then deciding she didn't like it so much. (Eliana has now had the word 'ambivalent' introduced to her.) Willa took one look and refused totally to even consider opening her mouth, and Dominic took one mouthful and clearly decided that was that. Nora, bless her independent little soul, had three bowls full!

Wednesday: crustless cheese quiche, squash-kale salad

Thursday: squash-carrot-rutabaga casserole topped with cottage cheese. (This is me, making things up as I go along...)

And as it happened, we ended up having a cheese omelette instead, which they all loved, since they got to dip it in ketchup. Well, except Eliana who, by dint of eating anything fed to her without complaint for a loooong time now, has earned the right to have one or two opt-outs. Eggs top her list! She had cream cheese on a bagel instead.

Friday: Thick lentil soup, naan, and spinach raita
(I've borrowed an Indian cookbook from the library. Can you tell?)

Nora loved the lentil soup. Loved it. Dominic and Willa did not. Willa loved the spinach raita, asking for thirds; Dominic cheerfully ate a single helping, Nora nibbled at it, and everyone loved the bread.

We Like Reading

Seeking Craft Supplies

Again! This time it's toilet rolls and paper towel tubes for Halloween-y crafts, specifically these:


and this:


Any and all donations gratefully accepted! If we get more than we can use for these crafts (though with Eliana in the ranks, this is most unlikely!) I'm sure I can think of something else to do with them!

Thank you!

Messy, Messier, Messiest

We had baked beans for lunch today. Home-made, of course. They were pretty much an all-round hit.

Now, the junior set did start off using their spoons. They're quite the little fans of spoons these days... but... spoons are tricky things, you know. Hard to aim.Harder still to get them to ferry their contents from bowl all the way to mouth. (But really, what else are high chair trays for?)
At a certain point, however, even the most dedicated of spoon-feeders (and Dominic really is dedicated to the task)... even the most committed spoon enthusiasts can decide "the heck with it".


And so they did.

Fabulous Playdough Recipe

Milan in particular has been loving our new playdough, and who can blame him? I've found the world's best playdough recipe: so silken soft and malleable, it's just a pleasure to hold in your hands. (Or, in Dominic's case, it's pure pleasure to tear it into tiny bits, drop them off the high chair tray, and see if the dog will eat it. FTR: She doesn't eat it. He keeps trying...)

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tbsp oil
2 tsp cream of tartar (alum also works)
1 cup water
food colouring

Heat oil at medium-low heat.

Mix your food colouring with the water until you get the depth of colour you're after. Put it all in the pot with the oil and cook over low/medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly.

It looks too goopy/sticky at first. Don't worry! It thickens as it cooks, and if you add more flour it will end up dry and crumbly. When it's a nice, thick consistency, remove from heat and knead dough a few times on the counter. It will feel a bit sticky. It becomes less so as it cools.

Store in an airtight container or ziplock bag in the fridge. (It will last longer if you do this. I keep mine in a plastic bag in a bin the kitchen at room temperature, and it lasts at least a couple of months.)

Upcoming Family Stuff FYI

Windsor Park's annual Fall Fest, on Sunday, October 24, from 11:00 - 4:00. (Click that link for more information.)


I have downloaded the template for the pumpkin colouring contest. If I can get it printed, we'll be decorating a few of them over the next week or two. (You can decide whether or not you submit them at the park!)

If you're feeling particularly community-minded, they are looking for volunteers!

Happy Birthday!

DID YOU KNOW that it's Mr. Keith's hundred-and-umpteenth birthday???


Me, neither.

Nor am I a particular fan of his brews, really, being more inclined to Irish ales, but... I was out with a friend last night (drinking wine, as it happens) and there was this girnormous bag of green foamy things on a chair by the bar, and we were curious and...

"Hey! Look at these silly things!"

In the end, a freebie is a freebie is a freebie. Besides, I knew the kids would love them.

Which they do!



So, it's Mr. Keith's 190th birthday, and while the kids are appreciating the goofiness, I am appreciating the irony: the Keith's birthday swag looks like a Moosehead.

Menu Monday

Monday:
Egg noodles with a mushroom-alfredo sauce; cucumber slices
Noodles and sauce were happily devoured, the mushrooms carefully left behind, though Nora was less diligent about picking them out than Willa!

Tuesday:
Toad in the hole, tabouli
Toad in the hole was a hit, as usual; tabouli, merely tolerated

Wednesday:
Black bean felafels with pita and fillings (chopped veggies, grated cheese)

Dishes of this nature don't get eaten as a whole, they get ingested in their composite parts. In fact, if I write 'cheese sandwiches' on a menu, often what your child is getting are pieces of cheese and pieces of bread. Separate. So: the felafels were enjoyed by all. They seem to like eating spherical things... The other bits and pieces were eaten as each child's preferences dictated.

Thursday:
Sloppy joes, vegetables (cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, etc) baked in a cheese sauce

The sloppy joes were not a huge hit, to my surprise. The vegetables were -- but we all know you could eat a t-towel if you put enough cheese sauce on it...

Friday:
Spinach pie, roast potatoes with lemon

The spinach pie was a HUGE hit with Willa. She ate three slices, and wanted more -- but there was none! Nora and Dominic enjoyed it too, just not to the point of explosion... The potatoes were also appreciated, though less than the pie. See? Your children do make healthy choices!

Park Buddies

A picture from a few weeks ago: Dominic and Nora consult regarding the finer points of pouring sand.

Pride of Accomplishment

Did she put all those blocks together on her own? Sorta. She took small stacks of blocks and clicked them together, like so...

(Apparently, it is necessary to have your mouth wide open, the better to concentrate. Or to get those things to click into place. Or something.)

"Hey, Willa. Did you make that giant tower??"

"Why, YES!!! Yes, I DID!!!"

Recipe: Lentil-Beet Salad

Willa and Nora loved this, so I'm posting the recipe.

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked lentils (if you're using dried lentils, 1 cup dried makes about 3 cups cooked)
3 lb beets
4 tablespoons lemon juice (apple cider vinegar also works)
1 tablespoon juice from a jar of banana pepper rings
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup onions, sliced into thin, 1-cm bits
1/4 cup banana pepper rings, minced

beet greens, finely chopped (including stems)
OR two or three handfuls of finely chopped spinach

Method

1. Rinse the beets and remove top and tail. Do not peel. Roast in a foil package till tender. (375 for an hour usually does it) Let them cool. (I often do this the day before and work with room-temperature beets the next day.)

2. Prepare your lentils. (Put 1 cup lentils in pot with 2.5 cups water. Cover, and bring to a boil, then immediately reduce temperature and let simmer on lowest setting for about 40 minutes. Drain, if necessary, though probably all the water will be absorbed.)

3. Peel beets. (Having been roasted, the peels should just rub off if you push at them with your thumbs. Oiling your hands prior to this minimizes staining, but your hands will be pink when you're done!) Chop them into a fairly fine dice.

4. Put lentils, beets, onions, and finely chopped greens into a bowl.

5. Mix the remainder of the ingredients and pour over. Stir gently and thoroughly.

This can be eaten immediately, but gets much better if allowed to marinate for half an hour first, and then be put in the fridge overnight. It can be eaten chilled or at room temperature.

The girls had theirs at room temperature, and, given their size, they ate a lot. I normally let the children feed themselves, but given the stain potential of beets, I deemed it wise to feed them today. It was like sitting between two baby birds. First one mouth, then the other would pop open for the next spoonful. One bowl, the next bowl, one spoon, the next spoon, back and forth between the two. It was very cute.

This dish is LOADED with fibre, has lots of iron, and a heap of very RED beets. Be prepared for some colourful output from them over the next day or so...