Weekend Plans and Dairy Free KD

I have two very important things to say today.

First of all-- I'm not sure what your weekend plans include, but if I was crutch free and had two healthy working knees I would be spending my Saturday at the Fieldstone Vintage Market.

It's a market being held here in Abbotsford at the Eco Dairy on Sumas Way.  Sounds like there's going to be lots of awesome vintage collectors and local artisans setting up booths and selling their wares.  I would LOVE to go-- but alas-- I don't think my knee could handle it.  But if you need something to do and want to get out of the house-- check out the market!

For more info you can take a look at the Fieldstone Vintage blog or their facebook page.

And now for my second very important thing.  I made dairy free mac and cheese out of that Daiya cheesy stuff.  A little almond milk, some Earth Balance butter, a pinch of flour, some "cheese" and I had the most amazing dairy free cheese sauce.  I mixed it in with some macaroni and let Emerson go to town.  She was totally digging the dairy free, somewhat cheesy, orange goodness.

She polished it off like nothing... and then proceeded to smear gooey cheese sauce all over her face and in her hair.  Oh the things a kid's gotta do around here to get a bath these days... let me tell you.

Another Dairy Free Experiment

The days are feeling fall-ish.  Yesterday I decided to make soup-- it just felt like the right thing to do.  I haven't cooked in a long long time-- cooking and crutches just don't seem to go well together :)  But Doug was working late, the kids and I were hungry, and I had all the ingredients for corn chowder-- so I decided to go for it.

But... not only did I make my usual corn chowder-- I also decided to try my hand at a small batch of dairy free corn chowder for the little lady.  The picture says it all.  Major success.

My normal recipe usually includes farmer sausage not bacon-- it makes awesome corn chowder.  I get my farmer sausage from the Fine Foods in Waldheim Saskatchewan.  It's not exactly the store down the street-- but they sell the best!  I take the casings off while it's still partially frozen so that it kind of crumbles as you fry it.  Add some onions, potatoes (with some water), salt and pepper, corn (frozen, fresh, or canned) creamed corn, and an assortment of milk ingredients-- milk, cream (yes please!), maybe some cream of mushroom soup and lots of cheese!  Not exactly Emerson friendly.

But, I had some Daiya dairy free cheese in my fridge so I decided to give it a try.  The package says it's "Deliciously dairy free"-- I'm not convinced.  It smells a little funky to me-- tastes funky too-- but Emerson doesn't know the difference!  Once the potatoes were cooked, I added the corn, some almond milk (with a little flour to help thicken it up), a little extra dairy free butter for a bit more flavor, and the cheese-- or should I say "cheese".  

It melted pretty well and actually tasted pretty creamy.  The dairy free version wasn't as tasty as my normal corn chowder but Emerson ate it up!  It actually wasn't too bad.  Eme loved it.  And she loved it again today at lunch.

So did Caleb (he ate the dairy friendly version)-- he had TWO bowls full last night and even drank the last bit of soup right from the bowl.  While I tend to discourage this kind of messy eating behavior-- I was happy to see that he enjoyed it :)  So, I'm thinking that this meal will be a staple in our house over the winter months!  And even though the Daiya dairy free cheese was a little bit nasty to me-- I will likely be purchasing it again :)

Saying No to Toys

I've know this for a while now-- but the past few weeks have reinforced the fact that my kids do not play with their toys.  Either we have terribly uninteresting toys, not enough toys to hold their attention, or they would just rather play with non-toys.  Personally I just think they like non-toys.  In a room full of colorful plastic kids paraphernalia Emerson will always manage to seek out and find the lid from a tupperware container or a chip clip.  Either of these items usually provide entertainment for quite some time.

So.  I've decided to just go with it-- for two reasons.  One-- the kids like non-toys and they keep them quiet and happy.  Reason enough in and of itself if you ask me.

But secondly-- this is a fringe benefit-- giving the kids non-toys in place of real toys is cost effective and storage effective.  Case in point-- instead of buying Caleb bath toys I've just given him the doubles of all my kitchen stuff that I don't use on a regular basis.  Instead of trying to find room for that turkey baster in my crowded kitchen drawer I let him squirt things while he's making soup in the tub (it's his favorite bathing pastime.)

I think it's quite genius.  Family members who occasionally assist with bath time at our house aren't so convinced.  My brother in law looked at me like I was insane when he saw the cheese grater on Caleb's bath "toy" shelf.  I'll admit that I'm not sure what Caleb does with it in the tub-- but at least I don't have to find a spot for it in my overcrowded kitchen, right?

And don't worry-- any bath time "toy" that is re-introduced into the kitchen is put through my dishwasher's sterilizing cycle :)

So yesterday Doug and I were not surprised to discover this in the living room.

Caleb woke up early Sunday morning and decided to play in the living room.  Of course-- he raided the chip clip drawer and spent the morning quietly constructing rocket ships. (yes I have a lot of chip clips-- I eat a lot of chips-- don't judge me.)

So I'm thinking that I probably won't be buying too many toys in the future.  Lego, games, puzzles, books, crafty stuff, cars/trucks/trains, and maybe a doll or two are all we need!

So what do your kids play with?  Toys?  Non-toys?  I'm curious...

PSL-- yes please

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes-- I'm pretty sure it doesn't get much better than this.  I pinned this recipe on Pinterest last night and it was repinned over 30 times in a few short hours.  I'm thinking it's probably a winner.  Can someone please make them and let me know if they are indeed as good as they look?  If they are, I may just be willing to attempt a little baking with my crutches over the weekend.  Or you could just bring me a PSL... just saying.

Update-- I have great friends.  Friends who stop by my house with pumpkin spice lattes.  And who would have thought-- a grande fits into my exercise bike's cup holder perfectly.  Now that's what I like to see!!

I can't see it...

... can't see my living room floor that is.  I must say that I'm growing just a wee bit tired of this view.  At least Emerson is putting the toys to good use-- standing on them gives her a clear view of the street as she waits for Daddy to come home at the end of the day.  And let me tell you... she's not the only one waiting anxiously for Daddy to arrive...

New to the Living Room

There have been a few new additions to the living room.  The first addition is still in progress.  After sitting in this room for the past few weeks I've decided that its time to do something about the throw pillow situation.  I've had "temporary" pillows in here for the past few months after my old ones were ruined by the four year old of the house.  The temps are officially driving me crazy.  So I've had swatches out for the past few days-- since fall is upon us I'm thinking I might make some velvet pillows-- how's that for cozy?  Just gotta pick the right color.  I'm on it-- I have a lot of free time in the day to stare at the samples from across the room.

And here's the other more unfortunate addition to the living room-- a stationary exercise bike.  Not only is it unattractive-- it is also pain inflicting.  My physiotherapist assures me that I will be able to do a full revolution on the bike in no time.  I don't believe her.  Today I am quite certain that my knee will never bend like that again.

But past experience tells me that she's probably right.  I may just be eating my words in a few days.  Until then, I'll be here on the bike-- or on the couch :)

School Boy

Today was Caleb's first official day of preschool.  He was SO excited.  As we were walking (well, I was "walking" with my crutches) out the front door I made him put on his new backpack, tossed my crutches aside, and tried to take a "first day of school" picture of my cute, sweet, innocent, four year old school boy.

Here's what I got.

If I was Caleb's teacher I'd be thinking that this kid looks like trouble.  Really, he was just so excited-- standing still was difficult.  While Caleb was a little nervous when we first arrived-- once he found the toys he barely looked up when I said goodbye.  And he had a great time.  I asked Caleb what he had done that morning-- apparently they had done "quite many things".   He can hardly wait to go back later on this week.

And how did I get him (and Emerson) down the stairs and to the car in my current invalid state?  Well-- I had a babysitter for Eme during the morning drop off.  When it came time to pick Caleb up however... I may or may not have scooted on my bum down the front steps on my way to the car.  Stairs + Crutches + Holding a one year old =  a nearly impossible situation.  Let's just say the neighbors are in for a show over the next few weeks...

Afternoon Highlight

This warm Friday afternoon did not start out so great-- I hobbled into the living room to discover that Eme had found Caleb's milk and was chugging it back.  As I swooped in and picked her up she started to violently throw up everything in her system-- thank goodness!  She broke out into some hives and was itchy for a while, but we avoided a trip to the ER.  After the kids were sleeping I decided to not do anything except sit and look at the latest digital issues of the magazines I subscribe to-- I was way too stressed out to do anything else!  My afternoon improved when I discovered a fabulous kitchen in the latest October issue of Style at Home.  And since I just figured out how to snap pictures on my Mac, I decided to share them with you :)

I'd take this kitchen in a heartbeat.

Now I don't know what you're going to think of this next kitchen but I thought I'd share it anyway.  The latest issue of House and Home featured pictures of the 2011 PMH Showhome.  The Showhome's kitchen is yellow-- actually I'd call it mustard.  Do you dig it?

While I probably wouldn't put it in my own house-- I'm loving it.  And there are a lot of features in here that make me happy-- those lights, the backsplash, the style of cabinetry, that rustic island.

Well now.  The afternoon's almost over and the weekend is almost here.  Thank goodness.  If anyone would like to drive to my house and bring me some chocolate or a frap I would probably accept :)

Overnight Guests Beware

Warning-- if you ever are an overnight guest at our house I might just sell your bed right out from under you.  True story folks.  While my parents were visiting a couple of weeks ago I sold the guest room bed.  Well not the mattresses, just the bed frame.  You see-- I have a bit of a craigslist problem.  I buy things... and I sell things.  It's a bit addicting.  On a whim I posted our old Ikea Hemnes bed frame to see if someone would buy it for a decent price.  I figured it was now or never-- Ikea recently started cleared out all the old style Hemnes bed frames in the wood finish (I think they're still selling the white ones) and are now selling a new version for a much cheaper price.  Well, as soon as I posted it I had a ton of emails and inquiries... but I wasn't super committed at that point and it just didn't seem like I had buyers that were really serious.  Then my parents came and I was scheduled for surgery so I just figured I'd sell it another time.  But then someone called the day before surgery and was willing to pay cash and pick it up within the hour.  Before saying yes I asked my mom if I could sell her bed-- she was down with it.  So we pulled the whole thing apart and an hour later it was gone.  I wasn't sure what my dad would say when I told him I had sold his bed, but he just chuckled and told me that the old ikea bed was too high for him anyways :)  So now the mattresses sit all alone on the floor waiting for a headboard intervention.

So now I've got to make a new bed.  Obviously not today, this week, or any time soon... but I would like to try my hand at doing another upholstered headboard.  We already did a camel back headboard for our room so I'd like to do something different this time around.  So many options... how's a girl gonna decide?

image

I guess for now I'll just have to look at some pretty pictures for inspiration.  Here are few fav's...

white or cream with tufting.  pretty and kinda girly.

How about this one with side panels-- kind of like a wingback chair turned headboard.

This one's the got the best of both-- wingback-ish sides AND tufting.  Looks like a lot of work :)

upholstering a headboard with a patterned fabric could look pretty spectacular...

I love yellow,

I love stripes,

And I love pretty much anything Sarah Richardson designs.

These ones don't have pattern but are still colorful.  I love the inset panel in the next ones and how they are trimmed out with piping or a bit of nailhead trim...

Oh, there are so many options.  And I have way too much time on my hands to think about this!  So what would you choose?  Color, pattern, tufting, nailhead trim...?

all images via pinterest

Yup, I'm still sitting here

Let's continue on with my "from the couch" series-- because it really is that exciting.  right.

Well apparently summer has finally arrived around these parts... great timing, eh?  I wish I could dazzle and wow you with stories and pictures from an adventurous and fun long weekend but alas, I spent most of the weekend on the couch.  But I did manage to snap a few pics with my phone along the way.

Let's start with Emerson.  She's been learning lots of new things.  Like...  How to dance.  She's got the head bob going on whenever she hears music.  Waving-- this isn't new-- but she's abandoned the concept of "less is more" and waves pretty much all day long.  Crawling-- she's like lightening.  And now she's walking along furniture and starting to stand on her own.  Cuddling-- Eme will now cuddle with me for 5 second intervals.  This is 5 seconds longer than Caleb (as a baby) would have ever sat still.  As of this morning she's figured out how to grind her teeth-- it's driving me crazy.

And... she's been waking up with the sweetest hair lately-- think beehive-- flat on the sides with a big pouf on top.  I dig it.

And now that other kid.  Check out those muscles.  

After days and days spent on the couch I was getting a little claustrophobic.  So we tried to get out to a couple of different parks over the weekend.  I did a lot of sitting around-- Doug and the kids played.  Funniest thing ever was watching them play monkey in the middle-- frisbee style.  Eme was the little monkey in the middle who just never seemed to be able to catch the frisbee flying overhead.  We also hit up the spray park.  Caleb's favorite thing at the spray park was the ziploc bag from his lunch-- he could have run around with that thing filling it up with water for hours.  Why do I ever buy them toys?  My favorite part of the spray park was the insane set of the stairs I had to climb up and down with my crutches.  I'd better have some seriously ripped arms by the time this is over.

And of course-- like I mentioned before-- most of the weekend was spent right here, on the couch.  But we've still tried to have fun.  Like play monopoly.  Caleb beat me quite badly.

And Caleb's continued to spend hours drawing on his Magna Doodle.  This was an excavator.

And let me end this post my saying that I have been well taken care of by the boys in my house.  My hubby's last few weeks have included mountains of laundry, cleaning the house, making meals, grocery shopping, bathing/feeding/clothing/entertaining two kids, getting up during the night with kids, taking care of the yard, taking care of the car, taking care of me-- oh, and working 40 hours a week at his day job :)  I sure do love him!  Caleb's been following his example.  All day long Caleb brings me ice packs, pillows, my breakfast (just yogurt or a granola bar-- nothing too crazy!) and he carries everything around the house for me.  He even moves his sister around the house-- I strap her into the stroller and he wheels her down the hall to her room or to her high chair.  And Caleb latest job is to vacuum.  We have a little mini-vacuum cleaner-- Doug set it up to charge in Caleb's bedroom and he has become my official vacuum-er.  He's taking his job pretty seriously.  Yesterday, in a very parent-like voice Caleb said to me, "Oh Mommy, don't worry.  Daddy and I are going to take GOOD care of you."  And he's right.  Daddy and Caleb are taking very good care of me :)

On Display

I love art created by kids.  I also love gallery art walls.  So, if you combine the two you get something pretty awesome.  Maybe something that looks like this...

Caleb LOVES to do art projects.  He started at an early age-- when he was just a wee lad he would head off to daycare where he would craft away the day.  His love of creating has continued.  I literally have an entire filing cabinet drawer that's full of his creations.  One project that's on my to do list for this fall is to find a way to creatively display some of his stylish work!  I've been collecting some pictures of stylish ways to display kids art.  Here are some of my favorites...

Honestly-- this is so stylish and so pretty-- it's beautiful!  Who needs to buy art when kids can create something like this!

A grid of frames up on the wall like this is pretty incredible-- you could put anything into these frames and it would look amazing.  I LOVE it!

Honestly-- skip the fridge magnets and head for the frames.  I've been collecting a bunch of cheap frames and mats to frame some of Caleb's paintings-- because the frames take it from being cute to stylish!  Stylish enough for the kitchen :)

I think the key is to display kids art in a collection-- putting one or two up won't have the same impact as a grouping of pieces.  In this picture these images aren't framed-- but they are grouped together in an artistic way.  Because the room is more casual it works!

Again, in this space it's the grouping and scale of this arrangement that makes this look so amazing!  All this mom did was attach thin strips of wood to the wall, painted them out and attached clips to the grid so that artwork could be rotated and added to the wall easily.  Brilliant!  (For more details click here)

There are hundreds of creative ways to display kids artwork-- just search on pinterest for a while and you'll be blown away.  Here a few more fav's of mine...

Clip it up!!

Magnetic strips.  Oh my-- I am totally digging that pink strip along the bottom of the wall.  And those little boots, and the little chair-- so cute!

And I would love to try this one out-- if you can't store all of your kid's art just photograph it, shrink the images and display them as a collection in a single frame.  Totally modern-- from a distance it looks like a great print-- and the best thing is that you don't have to keep drawers full of artwork!!

So one of these days (maybe in a few weeks!) I'll have to get Caleb set up to do more painting and figure out where I'm going to display it!  I can't wait!  And if you're looking for a project for the long weekend and have stacks of kids artwork-- here you go.  A weekend project just for you :)

All images can be found here

Ice Buddies

Ice packs.  They're a hot commodity around here these days...

I've been faithfully keeping my knee iced-- Caleb's faithfully provided me with cold ice packs from the freezer all day long.  But now we've become ice buddies.  Why?  Well he tends to be a bit accident prone.  Even while wearing a helmet (they really should be mandatory for 4 year olds nowadays) Caleb managed to find a way to get hurt.  Last night he took a flying frisbee to the nose.

This led to yet another trip to the hospital for this family (this makes 3 trips in 3 weeks... each trip for a different member of our family-- but I'm not counting :)  The doctor checked for clots (all clear) and determined that since his nose was sitting pretty straight there was no point in doing X-rays... broken or not the diagnosis would be the same.  Bring on the ice.

Caleb was brave.  Grandma gave him a cookie-- that seemed to stop the tears.  I told him that he could either go to straight to bed or take a trip to the hospital with Daddy.  Thankfully he didn't call my bluff-- he excitedly chose the hospital.  Apparently he had a great time in the ER.  The doctor looked up his nose with a tiny flashlight-- he was a fan.  Caleb got a treat before bed-- a donut.  But the best part of the evening was when he walked in the door after the hospital trip as chipper as could be saying:

"Hello Mommy!!!  Guess what-- the doctor said I have to put ICE on my nose!!!"