Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2006

A week in menus (at least)...

Haven't been updating this because the baby and now I have a cold, and I'm thoroughly depressed about money. It's 1:53 and I'm still in my nightgown; didn't go out to baby playgroup because of our cold. I think I'm the only considerate parent in that respect - not to mention that it's cold outside and I didn't feel like going. :-) HOWEVER... I'd like to keep up with the menus, if only so I'll have something to look back on during weeks when I'm feeling uninspired. SUNDAY: homemade spaghetti w/leftover sundried tomato sauce (tinned sauce with an onion and a few sundried tomatoes thrown in, then blended) and leftover creamy sweet potato soup from last week. OH! And chocolate pasta for dessert, with the most amazing frugal almond sauce! MONDAY: stirfried chicken with a TON of veggies; basmati rice; chicken soup TUESDAY (tonight): steamed turbot... not sure exactly what I'm going to do with it yet. The good news is that my serger is w

Update (been a while!) - Random Free-Association Post

Oy! Time has flown. Lots of articles in this week's CJN, but it's been SO busy with other stuff. Crazy! Last week, where to begin? Anniversary on Tuesday Broken tooth on Thursday Kids sick Ted sick Those are the highlights. I tutored on Thursday, busy-busy with baby stuff Tues/Wed... no time for a breather after turning in those articles on Monday! Meals were all over the place and I have no clue what we ate when. The broken tooth was highly traumatic - cried all over Ted for 2 hours Thursday night because I was sure my life was over - his insurance hasn't kicked in yet, I hate my dentist, I'm scared to have anybody poking about in my mouth. Friday morning, first thing, I called my mother and she recommended a dentist who is close by on Eglinton. I called at 8:15 and he said he could take me if I came right away. Dd1 was home sick from school so I abandoned her here with a cup of tea, scooped up dd2 to bring to my mother's and we were on our way! Anyway, the dentist

Digging out from under Laundry Mountain...

The table is piled high with laundry! There are about ten different piles. The scary thing is, this isn't a month's worth of laundry, or a week's worth... it's yesterday's laundry. And because I haven't done any today, I've already fallen behind. Just accepted two new CJN assignments due the 15th. This time, about education; health is more interesting to me, but I should be okay with this, too. Today is our anniversary - yay! 2 years! Ted got me a bubblegum pink t-shirt from the kids that says "We Love Mommy" and a Toyota keychain with a magen david on the back. He thought it was a Hyundai logo. I am saying I don't mind.

More addictions!

Flax seeds - they're everywhere these days! Smaller and more slippery than a sunflower seed, bigger and more substantial than a sesame seed. And full of Omega-3's, they say... And, totally unrelated: Infomercials - I will watch and kinda half-believe almost any infomercial, especially for kitchen products! Does it work? websites - This is the most redeeming feature of the Internet; the professionals who check out all those infomercial claims for me so I don't (often) get sucked in... of course, epinions, a recent eBay acquisition, is also great... Supper: Friday: Terra-chip chicken (terra chips ground in the food processor), zucchini latkes (zukes, carrots, potatoes, onion, all grated in the food processor), corn, soup (carrots and celery sliced in the food processor) (1000 kneidlach - matzah balls - made by ECH who accidentally doubled the recipe!). Shabbos Lunch: Nothing much - bagels, cream cheese, assorted salads. ECH made peanut butter tea biscuit "salad&quo

And the big bday present this year is...

Random thoughts: Nosiness and curiousity are so close to being flip sides of the same coin... A person's insatiable desire to learn is something they say wonderful things about in eulogies... but the flip side is being a controlling, nosy, poky-minded b. <hr> The ceaselessness of dishes and laundry is no longer bothering me. Of course, that still doesn't mean they're getting done every day. :-) But it doesn't grind me down the same way if I put in the "last" load of laundry for the week, come upstairs, and find, say, a diaper or a pair of something that didn't "quite" make it into the hamper. <hr> So... the big birthday present? From my parents, of course... An amazing new Cuisinart 14-cup (that's big ) food processor. I am so thrilled to have a brand and I have yet to find a review that's much less than five stars anywhere on the web. It is a fabulous black-matte metal colour; it look like a professional appliance. I ha

Success!

Gave a workshop today at the Betel Centre about buying/selling on eBay. Only 4 people (out of nine "registered") showed up... but they were very involved and interested, so that's okay. Sometimes, the ones who do show up feel sorry for you so they try extra-hard to be "good" students. :-) Started late because I wanted to wait 'till 9:15 in case people would come, but no-one else did - there was some snow on the ground this morning and that always makes seniors want to stay at home. And then I talked until 11:30 straight with only a short bathroom break. Very hoarse now; hope it's just from talking at people and not from actual disease. Going to write an article for CJN about Beech-Nut baby foods which are now available in Canada... but turned down for my query about restaurant-bathroom reviews (darn), and also about Krispy Kreme (where have all the KK's in the GTA gone?) because they just ran an article last week about how successful KK has been

Re: Test post to Blogger

Kind of a "nothing" day... I always feel like Monday and Tuesday are recovering-from-the-weekend days. Baby playgroup at the shul. $7 seems like a lot for babies to sit around and play for an hour, and the songs were exactly the same as last week. But Naomi loved it; she was exhausted and sat the whole playtime staring in awe of the baby (couple of weeks older than her) who was starting to walk. That baby's mama saw Naomi just sitting there like a lump, so (I guess to make me feel better) asked if she was saying any words yet - like maybe she's good at something else, right? And I'm like (in my head) "only if 'grrlabbbbbababa' is a word, lady." But then I remembered - doh! - and got to brag after all: "she says 'more' and 'music' in sign language." And she did, too, during snack time a few minutes later! After a bit of juice, a cracker and some applesauce, she perked up a bit and crawled around during music. Attac

Done, done, done!

This week is looking way rosier than last week (the end, anyway). We have a "new" washing machine! It works great! The clothes were starting to get dingy... my criterion for a good washer is - does it knock the "stuffing" out of a pocket diaper? The last one (it came with the house) didn't... the stuffing would just curl up and hide in a corner of the dipe. If you're not sure what a pocket dipe is, here's one with the stuffing on its way in. The idea being, the outer part is waterproof, the inner part is soft against the baby, and the middle, you stuff a towel or anything waterproof. But the whole thing is way more sanitary if the stuffing is washed outside the diaper. Anyway, this washer does a stupendous job - the stuffings were all cowering obediently in a corner FAR away from the outer. And the whites that came out of the white load today were shiny and bright. Can't wait do some sun-drying in the backyard... when the sun decides to return in it

Broken Washing Machine Frantic Sad Day

Yes... the demise of a terrible washing machine CAN have that much of an impact on my life. More about the washer later. Otherwise, it was already a crazy day - I was out tutoring this morning and go out again this evening, all trying to make some money plus "keep a hand in" for the intellectual stimulation. Sara (my sister) came to watch Naomi, which was a pleasure... she's so calm and good with the baby. I hurried back but it still took 1/2 hour longer than I thought it would and the baby was crying and ready for num nums (nursing). But then the washing machine was broken. Actually, I discovered that first thing this morning when I went to use it, but then it was preoccupying me, hanging over my head like a gloomy cloud. There's another one in the garage, but it's a crazy-hard thing to get it inside and hook it up and Ted doesn't know who he'll ask to help him carry it. Meanwhile, I discovered it was broken (the knob doesn't turn) as I went downstair

Addicted to... raves page

Only one so far: YU organic basmati rice milk - costs a fortune... maybe if I get a blender for my birthday, I will figure out how to make this. Pur rice, no sugar added, so this is kind of a guilt-free addiction, for once! More: Okay, it's pretty trite, but Robeez baby soft shoes. They work better than any others I've tried - in 11 years of parenting experience, mind you! I have 6-12 months: Lion, Butterfly, Teddy Bear. Plus, I have one in the next size up... 12-18 months (forget which one). I prefer the animals, in general, and only buy them secondhand, as the prices are scandalous new. HATE the Booteez or however they spell them, though. What non-walking baby needs boots in the winter?

Swimming Lessons! & HB to me!

Today was Naomi's third swimming lesson - my 2nd. I couldn't take her last week, since I was doing a workshop at the Betel Centre. What a fun time! The pool water was cold so it was only a 1/2 hour class this week, instead of the full hour which exhausted her so much last time. Oh - mailman's here! Oooh! I've been Pinned ! See DiaperPin.com for more information, but basically this means a little present, out of the blue on a day when I was least expecting it. It's a brand-new Carter's crib sheet. Wow! I used to have a million crib sheets for the other kids, and I probably didn't throw them out, but now that Naomi needs them I have no clue where they are. I know I tossed a bunch with dead elastic a while ago. And on my birthday, no less... I'm so excited! Thank you, thank you, whoever sent this! Also, my new "free" business cards arrived from Vistaprint . Not exactly free, but it gives me something to hand out with all the networking I plan to

Cast of Characters

I don't like coming "cold" into a blog without knowing who's who... you know, you're reading along and all of a sudden, Phoebe does something and you're like, "who's Phoebe?" So here's who's who. KEEP IN MIND THAT MOST OF THIS WAS WRITTEN TWO YEARS AGO AND JUST UPDATED TODAY BECAUSE IT WAS sOOOOO OUT OF DATE! The grown-ups: Me - Jennifer - 36 years old today, stay-home mama of 3 (only one at home) Ted - DH - 42 years old, or maybe 43! Works as a driver for local funeral home but his real talent is in graphic arts - he's a cartoon artist. Very talented. The kids: Ds1 - 13 years old - interests include: reading, computers, handheld computers Dd1 - 12 years old - interests include: umm... it's private Dd2 - almost 3 years old - interests include: Lego, play-doh, cooking, cleaning ;-) Ds2 - 4 months old - Other characters: My parents - two Kids' Grandparents - Bubby, Zeidy, in Ottawa, Granny, Grampa, and, in Calgary, Grandma &