Well, we did it. Fly 4, who will be three this week, has a serious addiction to his soother. There are as many nicknames for pacifiers as there are babies, but in our house, they are called soo-soos. Fly 4 is deeply attached. So yesterday at hockey he was playing with a baby and when Fly Man got home, he told Fly 4 that we were giving soo soo to the cute baby. That the baby needed it and Fly 4 was now a big boy who was going to be three and didn't need soo soo anymore. Fly 4 did not agree. However, he went to bed last night relatively easily, only a few minutes of crying for soo soo, and slept very well. Usually we are up three times a night helping him find soo soo, and we know he will sleep better without it, ultimately.
So this is our morning conversation today:
Fly 4: "we go get my soo soo back today?"
Me: "No, the baby needs the soo soo."
Fly 4 (loudly): " I want soo soo back."
Me: "but the baby will be sad"
Fly 4: " I yike the baby to be sad"
As Fly Man said, if he had the words, he'd say "*&^% the baby, gimme my soo soo!"
Monday, October 25, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Glass Turkey
This is Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada. As always during holidays, I am caught in a dilemma. My husband and I love to entertain, and we have a large country property that lends itself well to summer gatherings. We've hosted weddings, anniversaries, and tons of barbecues and other parties. But once the weather gets cooler, we really don't have enough space inside for large gatherings. We both come from large families: either family represents at least 25 people, usually more as the neices and nephews are now old enough to want to bring dates. We can handle that many buffet style or for an informal party, but not for a sitdown dinner of turkey and trimmings.
So...this year we hosted a "Glass Turkey" party: cocktails and hors d'oeuvres at 5pm on Saturday night. It was a hit! At one point there were 19 of us, and a smaller group partied on until about midnight. There were plenty of beverages served, and I followed the cleaning plan I laid out in my last post.
The menu:
sweet & sour meatballs
pizza dip (recipe below)
baked brie with red pepper jelly
veggies and dip
One guest brought a cream cheese & veggie pizza, and another these great little phyllo bundles of turkey and veggies.
Everyone seemed to agree that this may be a new Thanksgiving tradition, as
non-traditional as it was. It was a good reminder that what really matters is being together, having a chance to catch up on each other's lives and enjoying good company.
Pizza Dip Recipe
Large package of cream cheese (softened)
2 teaspoons of dried italian seasoning
1/4 cup of sour cream
one small can of pizza sauce (approx 1 cup)
one cup of grated mozzarella
1/2 cup of grated parmesan
1/4 cup of chopped green pepper
Combine cream cheese, sour cream and seasoning until smooth. Spread on bottom
of pie plate. Top with half of the pizza sauce, then half of the cheeses. Do a second layer of pizza sauce and cheeses. Garnish with green pepper.
Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, until hot and bubbly.
Serve with bagel crisps or other crispy crackers.
So...this year we hosted a "Glass Turkey" party: cocktails and hors d'oeuvres at 5pm on Saturday night. It was a hit! At one point there were 19 of us, and a smaller group partied on until about midnight. There were plenty of beverages served, and I followed the cleaning plan I laid out in my last post.
The menu:
sweet & sour meatballs
pizza dip (recipe below)
baked brie with red pepper jelly
veggies and dip
One guest brought a cream cheese & veggie pizza, and another these great little phyllo bundles of turkey and veggies.
Everyone seemed to agree that this may be a new Thanksgiving tradition, as
non-traditional as it was. It was a good reminder that what really matters is being together, having a chance to catch up on each other's lives and enjoying good company.
Pizza Dip Recipe
Large package of cream cheese (softened)
2 teaspoons of dried italian seasoning
1/4 cup of sour cream
one small can of pizza sauce (approx 1 cup)
one cup of grated mozzarella
1/2 cup of grated parmesan
1/4 cup of chopped green pepper
Combine cream cheese, sour cream and seasoning until smooth. Spread on bottom
of pie plate. Top with half of the pizza sauce, then half of the cheeses. Do a second layer of pizza sauce and cheeses. Garnish with green pepper.
Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, until hot and bubbly.
Serve with bagel crisps or other crispy crackers.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
What Martha never told you
As Thanksgiving nears, I thought I would, in the spirit of public service, share with you Mama Fly's Guide to Entertaining. There are some tips on my list that you will not find elsewhere. Martha Stewart has done a lot for home decorating and entertaining, but in some areas she clearly lacks expertise.
Here we go:
1. Go to the Liquor Store. Buy lots.
2. Force small children to clean the bathrooms. In a pinch, skip your ensuite if you have one. Only people who know you extremely well will ever go in there, and they do so at their own risk.
3. Ask husband to do the cleaning job you hate the most. In my case, it is vacuuming. Men are more enthusiastic about jobs that involve an electrical appliance or engine of some type.
4. Tidy all the important school papers (and random crap) off your countertops and pile it in your room. Just like the ensuite, no one goes in there.
5. Force small children to put away their junk and tidy their rooms.
6. Make lots of food, and make it good.
7. Check bathrooms and put out fresh towels, etc.
8. Check kids' rooms, sigh and close the doors.
9. Open the booze.
10. Copious amounts of wine or other alcoholic beverages are the most effective tool for entertaining successfully. Carefully evaluate the condition of your home in order to determine what type of beverage to serve. If things are particularly sketchy, you may want to start with hard liqour. Several shots of vodka or rum in a blender full of fruity drinks can be your fallback in extreme situations. A beer or glass of wine will be sufficient for the times you really have it together. The goal is to have your guests tipsy enough that they aren't sure if they tripped over a dust bunny or stumbled over their own feet.
11. Your level of concern over your home's cleanliness is inversely proportional to the number of glasses of wine you consume at the event. Just be moderate, unless you prefer your guests to leave discussing your drunken state instead of your dusty coffee table.
12. At first glance this may appear to only work for guests who imibibe; however, it works for non-drinkers too - they will be too busy watching the other guests get tipsy to look at your baseboards.
Happy Holidays, everyone! I sincerely hope this helps you relax at that upcoming family dinner.
Here we go:
1. Go to the Liquor Store. Buy lots.
2. Force small children to clean the bathrooms. In a pinch, skip your ensuite if you have one. Only people who know you extremely well will ever go in there, and they do so at their own risk.
3. Ask husband to do the cleaning job you hate the most. In my case, it is vacuuming. Men are more enthusiastic about jobs that involve an electrical appliance or engine of some type.
4. Tidy all the important school papers (and random crap) off your countertops and pile it in your room. Just like the ensuite, no one goes in there.
5. Force small children to put away their junk and tidy their rooms.
6. Make lots of food, and make it good.
7. Check bathrooms and put out fresh towels, etc.
8. Check kids' rooms, sigh and close the doors.
9. Open the booze.
10. Copious amounts of wine or other alcoholic beverages are the most effective tool for entertaining successfully. Carefully evaluate the condition of your home in order to determine what type of beverage to serve. If things are particularly sketchy, you may want to start with hard liqour. Several shots of vodka or rum in a blender full of fruity drinks can be your fallback in extreme situations. A beer or glass of wine will be sufficient for the times you really have it together. The goal is to have your guests tipsy enough that they aren't sure if they tripped over a dust bunny or stumbled over their own feet.
11. Your level of concern over your home's cleanliness is inversely proportional to the number of glasses of wine you consume at the event. Just be moderate, unless you prefer your guests to leave discussing your drunken state instead of your dusty coffee table.
12. At first glance this may appear to only work for guests who imibibe; however, it works for non-drinkers too - they will be too busy watching the other guests get tipsy to look at your baseboards.
Happy Holidays, everyone! I sincerely hope this helps you relax at that upcoming family dinner.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Fill in the blanks
This is a fun little "Friday Fill-in" from Carmen:
1.I'm going out to dinner.
2. Laughter is music to my ears.
3. Perhaps today you can make it a point to reach out to someone who needs you.
4. It's hard to know how much wine is too much :)
5. Compassion is in short supply some days.
6. I need to run, no matter how difficult.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hanging with my husband, tomorrow my plans include dinner at a friends and Sunday, I want to cook a great meal!"
Substitute your own words where I have italicized and show me in the comments. Have a great weekend!
1.I'm going out to dinner.
2. Laughter is music to my ears.
3. Perhaps today you can make it a point to reach out to someone who needs you.
4. It's hard to know how much wine is too much :)
5. Compassion is in short supply some days.
6. I need to run, no matter how difficult.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hanging with my husband, tomorrow my plans include dinner at a friends and Sunday, I want to cook a great meal!"
Substitute your own words where I have italicized and show me in the comments. Have a great weekend!
Friday, September 17, 2010
What I did today
My sidekick (Fly 4, the only one not in school full-time) and I were busy this morning. What we have done so far:
Zellers - rubber boots and MORE school supplies.
Grocery Store - $150 worth of assorted stuff, including more items we need for our Weight Watchers diet
Liquor Store - Wine, Wine, Wine
My brother's house - drop off some stuff, follow him to drop his car for repairs, then brought him home, coffee and a visit
School - cheque and order form for tickets had to be in today or else
Music Studio - very large cheques for the oldest 3 to take guitar, piano, and piano in that order
Home - unload groceries, on second load of laundry and made lunch
Fly 4 now napping, I am thinking of doing the same.
Bet you are glad you waited weeks for me to do a new post!
Zellers - rubber boots and MORE school supplies.
Grocery Store - $150 worth of assorted stuff, including more items we need for our Weight Watchers diet
Liquor Store - Wine, Wine, Wine
My brother's house - drop off some stuff, follow him to drop his car for repairs, then brought him home, coffee and a visit
School - cheque and order form for tickets had to be in today or else
Music Studio - very large cheques for the oldest 3 to take guitar, piano, and piano in that order
Home - unload groceries, on second load of laundry and made lunch
Fly 4 now napping, I am thinking of doing the same.
Bet you are glad you waited weeks for me to do a new post!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
My Top Ten List
I saw this on from this side of the pond, a blog I enjoy, and it was fun to think about. Joyce was asking what your top ten books of all time list would be.
Here's mine:
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery
A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving
Postmortem, Patricia Cromwell
A Soldier of the Great War, Mark Helprin
A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCullough
The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett
London, Edward Rutherfurd
Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt
Send me yours in the comments, or post a link to your blog!
Here's mine:
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery
A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving
Postmortem, Patricia Cromwell
A Soldier of the Great War, Mark Helprin
A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCullough
The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett
London, Edward Rutherfurd
Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt
Send me yours in the comments, or post a link to your blog!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
I May Survive
Last week of summer vacation is mercifully over. Oh my lord, how many more days could these children and I stand each other for? Actually, it has gone by so quickly and we have had a lot of fun, but they are SO ready to get back to school and get away from each other. Big party here with the family on Sunday, up to my ears in back to school prep for Tuesday, so next week the posting will begin. As will the dieting, the running, the cleaning of the house, the finishing up of a work project, and all the other tasks I have put off all summer. "The kids are home, how could I possibly get that done"? Will have to find a new excuse. Fly 4 and I will be home alone. Play wif me, mommy, play wif me! Hope you have a great long weekend, everyone!
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