A Cousin's First Birthday

I have been waiting for this fun book to finally arrive from the library. I am no decorating professional like my sister, but I like to dabble and stretch into the creative zone once in a while.



Love this book! Easy tips and techniques using some basic tools you may already have around the house. My sister Joy had a marathon cake/cupcake making and decorating session at our house. She is great friends with the bride and made her cake/cupcakes as her gift. I will have to get her to let me post a couple of her cake creations as she is amazing! But lucky us, as she made some extra cupcakes. So I decided to experiment with the new book ideas.



As you can see, I had loads of fun creating a mini cupcake message for Jackson's little cousin Fynn who is celebrating his first birthday. And what better way for a little boy to party than with bugs and chocolate! So fun and so easy! I totally recommend this book to those moms out there (or anyone in general) who thinks, I can't do that...oh yes you can!



And on the clothes finding front... we scored on another craigslist find. Here's one of the new outfits we purchased. So cute, especially when accessorized with Aunty Joy's hat! Total bonus was that we sold some cloth diapers on craigslist that same day so we really didn't spend that much money at all on the clothes we purchased! Love this craigslist!

Autumn Changes...

A new month and a new season...
Here are a few things happening in our home.

We have been on craigslist looking for some more clothes for our little growing weed. He has already outgrown a huge rubbermaid container of clothes so we need to restock and get ready for the upcoming wintery season. Keep us updated if you hear of some great deals on boys clothes...



Jackson has been searching for just the right costume for his first Hallowe'en.


His impression of a maiden from the Alps...


My boy loves the bright flashy colours. Watch out Liberace!
Stay tuned for the final decision on Hallowe'en 2008!


New glasses for Mommy. How do you like my new specs? I have wanted to start wearing my glasses more so I splurged on a new set of frames and here they are...



Scott has signed up with a new company who has just expanded their operations to BC. We are all very excited about this new opportunity in Scott's chosen field of security. Source Security and Investigations is a one of the fastest growing security companies in Canada and we can't wait to see where it takes us.

Waving Goodbye to Babyhood

I know I keep mentioning it but every day Jackson learns something new and it makes me a little sad that he is no longer my little baby boy but just my little boy as he grows up right before my eyes.



Today he learned to fully wave when someone else waved to him. Scott was not able to see this great new milestone so we quickly grabbed the camera and shot a little video just for him.
It made me a little teary to see this new achievement but still a very proud mama of such a smart little man!

A Three Cake Kinda Day

Today is Scott's birthday.

Happy 31st Birthday Scott!

And to celebrate in true Scott fashion...food all day long. And not just your average run of the mill cuisine, but birthday fare at every meal. Namely... birthday cake!

Yes, our birthday boy celebrated with a delightfully, delicious dessert at each meal time.

The first meal of the day consisted of the cake that I was originally going to make for his birthday, Yellow cake with Vanilla frosting. Just your basic everyday mix cake with no great flares. This was Scott's first choice until he remembered a certain cake that he craved more than the basics. But no big deal since the cake stuck to the pan and did not come out as planned. So I didn't mind making another cake. But what to do with a light, fluffy yellow cake in pieces. Scott stated that it was not to waste as he would eat it as it was and so he did. What better way to start your birthday than a big breakfast. Of course, to make it more breakfasty (is that even a real word?) we added some Cool Whip and sliced bananas. It is his birthday and you may as well go big or go home.

Next came lunch at Scott's parents' home.

And it was just as he remembered when he was a kid. His mom pulled out all the stops and recreated his favourite birthday meal just as he requested every year of his adolescence. Piggies in a blanket with cheese (hot dogs and cheese slices in wiener/crescent roll dough), smiley face fries and whipped cherry jello with cool whip. The smiley fries are a new addition to this year but just as cute for his little family party. The kitchen table was even decorated with the help of his nephew Travis with balloons, loot bags and a chocolate birthday cake with a little toy fire station stuck to the top of it. Lunch was fun and nostalgic and very filling. And just as the saying goes, there was just enough room for jello but alas we did not have even an inch of space for the cake so we keep it for our next celebration in the evening. Two done one more to go for this sugar coated day of cake and dessert!

Our final confection of the day was the afore mentioned last minute craving to replace the botched yellow cake. It's official recipe name is Glazed English Toffee Cake from the Hershery's website but we just call it the Skor Cake. And it 'Skor'ed big reviews at our dinner party. My favourite part is how the crunchy Skor pieces become chewy and soft when added to the creamy middle layer. Mmmm, so yummy! No wonder there was hardly any left. Good to the last crumb.

Jackson even got in on the cake fest with a little mini chocolate cupcake all to himself. He was pretty partied out by the end of the night. The little guy didn't get much napping in that day, but we are hoping for a great night sleep all the way through for the lot of us.
Happy Birthday Scott!

Mmmm...Mashed Potatoes

Only a parent can love a messy, sticky, mucky little munchkin when they are covered in mashed potatoes from their ears to their elbows.



And he is just as cute when he is clean!



Enjoy these tater encrusted photos of my little spud.



Gotta capture them when you can.

They grow up to be big potato heads too quickly!

Balancing Rock

Have you heard of GeoCaching?
Well if you've read my earlier blog entry you would know all about this fun, inexpensive outdoor entertainment. We love to get out when we can and check out any new caches as they pop up. We have even been known to check the website for some extra curricular activities when planning a vacation. These scavenger type hunts are planted everywhere, you should check your neighborhood!



Lately we have been so busy with Jackson that we have neglected the caches we personally have created in our local little Smalliver. So upon reading that there were a few unsuccessful attempts to locate our bounty, we ventured into the great wilderness with our little one to check the status of our hidden treasure. Great day to cache as no muggles were sited as we entered the site.



We have named our GeoCache 'Balancing Rock', I think the photo speaks for it's self as to why. We love this place and couldn't wait to set up a cache here as soon as we discovered this 'game'. This is Jackson's first time to Balancing Rock, not counting in utero of course. We just had to get the customary pic of trying to push the rock over. It's a marvel of nature! You swear that if you push it just right it will go tumbling down the hill. But Scott says that his high school geology teacher figures it has been in place since the glacier melts in the ice age. And that's a loooong time considering we live in the only pocket desert in Canada.




Well the Johnny Cachers ( that's our geocaching handle) have secured the prize and all is well. The cache was there all along, we are just especially good at this game of hide and seek. We hope to have inspired you to take a look at our favourite family oriented outdoor adventure sport.
Happy Caching!

What to do with Green Tomatoes...

I have never claimed to be much of a gardener nor have I ever possessed a green thumb, but when presented with a couple of baby tomato plants I figured why not! At least it will be fun to watch them grow with Jackson this summer. And did they ever grow! Those two little seedlings sprouted into this huge overgrown bush that I just couldn't keep contained. We tried tomato cages but they busted out of those. Then we tried tying them up and back but the bush was mightier than the string. So I just surrendered to the wild and we went 'au naturale'.

Given that we let the tomatoes 'win', we were rewarded with a bounty of flowers which in turn mean tons of fruit. Unfortunately, as mentioned previously, I am not agriculturally inclined so our tomatoes are not in a prime sun seeking location and with all the 'free growth' there is a lot of shading so we have a multitude of big luscious Green tomatoes. Ah yes, I have tried picking them and placing them on a warm sunny windowsill but so far only two have started to turn red after over a week in the sun. I have too many tomatoes to deal with and not enough windowsills and daylight hours. So another solution needed to be found. When in doubt, cook 'em up! Off to the internet for some green tomato recipes. Here's what I found besides your standard 'Fried Green Tomatoes' that initially come to mind (of which I am not overly passionate)...

-Green Tomato Spice Loaf

-Green Tomato Chutney

- Green Tomato Jelly

- Green Tomato Pickles

There are so many more recipes out there but these are the ones that caught my eye. So to the kitchen to lighten our bushel of greenies. The first recipe to be tested was the Spice Loaf. I figured that you can't go too wrong with a quick bread similar to zucchini or carrot loaf.

Very yummy! Loved the spice mix and moistness of the cake. I only had pecans in the house for nuts but will try raisins next time. And when Scott was offered a warm slice slathered in butter he didn't even detect that he was eating tomatoes. I actually had to tell him a few times that he was indeed munching on tomato loaf as he was in disbelief. This recipe will definitely be added to my recipe keeper for next year's harvest if needed.

Then came a more experimental trip on the gastronomy wild side...
Green Tomato Jelly.

It is a very simple recipe and there are some good comments about this particular version as well as other very similar variations so here goes nothing...

As I was chopping up the tomatoes and adding the sugar to the pot, I thought to myself that this seemed like a very unusual concoction I was mixing up. But the smell was actually not too bad especially once the jello flavoring was added to give it a more familiar appearance. I have not tasted it yet as it hasn't quite set. But Scott says it looks like jam and smell likes jam and this is from a guy that rarely eats the stuff so I am hopeful and keeping my fingers crossed for success or at least it being edible.

There are still more fruit on the vines waiting to be picked so I may be attempting a few more recipes until the harvest is fully consumed. Here's wishing me luck on the next batch...