Our weekend (in pics)

We had a really nice weekend.

Yesterday, Loic had soccer.  It is a new group of kids and he *loved* class yesterday.  He is certainly chatty there and is really getting the hang of it.

We then had a play date at an old co-workers house who has two little boys and a very, very popular indoor swing.  I didn't get a picture because the swing held three little kids and two were mine!

Today we went to Lonsdale Quay to see the Navy ships.  The line up was huge (way longer than any 3 and a half year old could ever wait in) so we just watched them from the dock.  Loic and I went inside the Navy bus where we watched a "you should join the Navy!" video until Loic because so very excited with all the guns and bombs that I had to drag him out of there.....At our house we have a rule: guns are a tool and only Police officers and Army people are allowed to use them.  We also stress how dangerous they are.  Even so, we have a 3.5 year old who seems to really, really like guns?!  There are no toy guns here or at daycare so I am not sure where this has come from?  Oh well, he does say that only Police officers can use them, I guess that is a win.

Eating noodles at the Quay

We then went in and had lunch and Loic watched the lobsters and crab at the fish monger.

I did some gardening this weekend too.  Note: pea fencing is a pain in the ass to install.  I stated out with good intentions then quickly had to call Rob for back up, he then got all pea-fence angry (not really) and we kind of got them installed.  We have been really enjoying the radishes and green onions so far!

A bad job installing pea fencing, however, I think it will work

The dogs are doing well too.  Arthur is, well, still alive.  Tyler got into some trouble this weekend.  We have always put fruit in a pyrex dish on our microwave, like, forever.  We went out yesterday afternoon, and he managed to knock the dish off the microwave where is exploded, broke the tile floor, and sprayed glass all over the kitchen.  Awesome.  He cut his paw a little bit too but it is fine.  Oh Tyler.

A picture of the glass debris left over from a shattered pyrex dish.  Bad Dog.

Loic had a play date with a kid from his daycare today which was really nice.  He is going to a drop off birthday party at this kid's house so we decided it might be a good idea to meet the parents first!

I shall leave with a random baby picture, this is how Rob found her in her room today:

-E

Gardening pics, and a picture with grandma

Here are some pictures of my garden, taken this morning:

Garlic!

Peas, radishes and onions

Baby 'Pearl' lettuce, some more peas

My first attempt at planting sweet peas - I am really looking forward to these flowers

Happy, happy raspberries!!  And dwarf blueberries

Loic has needed a haircut for weeks now so today we all walked down to the barber shop where Loic proceeded to talk the barber's ear off!  It was pretty darn funny.

Maelle and I had a quick visit with my mom this afternoon and I got such a great picture of the two of them!

-E

Gardening! And Cooking! Exciting

As requested (by one person) here is what is going on in the garden:

Peas - are up!  I have half of one front bed planted with snap peas, another half with sweet peas (for the flowers Jody :)) and another quarter of a bed planted by Loic....his are NOT in straight rows.  We shall see what his peas do.  All are looking good!  I am on the hunt for some 6' tall stakes to stake them all up with, my brother said alder stakes work well.

Green onion sets - are up and growing quickly.

Radishes - look awesome!  I need to thin them out and clearly I am a very, very poor seed planter when it comes to spreading seed out....

Kale - 6 plants in and still alive.  A success so far, we have a lot of snails out there eyeing the kale.  I got the plants from my dad, he started them in his greenhouse.

Lettuce - the 'Pearl' lettuce is in and growing.  Again, I am not good at broadcast spreading seeds - they are all in clumps.  I will have to thin it out as it grows.

I put in three rows of carrots but haven't seen any sprout yet.  Maybe this weekend?

The raspberry patch I have planted over the past two years also looks amazing.  I love, love, love raspberries and so do the kids so I hope we get a lot of berries this year.

Blueberry plants - the 4 dwarf plants look great and so do two of the three standard sized ones.  I am a bit worried about one plant, the ends of the branches are showing some die back, but will have to wait and see.

Italian plum has been planted.

My garlic still looks good!  All 38 or 40 plants I planted are up and growing well so far.

Next up: I am going to plant potatoes in the back garden this weekend; some fingerling and another type.  I also need to get another rosemary plant and will put it in a large pot so that I can overwinter it near the house where it will be a bit more protected.

I am also going to plant some more lettuce in the front garden.

Cooking!  I haven't posted many recipes lately but rest assured, I have been cooking nightly.

Last night we had pork chops and I didn't wan to do my usual recipes so I quickly sauteed an onion and an apple in a bit of butter, took the apple and onion out of the pan, cooked the pork chops with salt, pepper, thyme and paprika, then added the apple and onion back to the pan.  This was really, really good!

We have also had some crock pot chicken tacos (yummy) and other tasty things lately.

I am on a lieu day today - yipee - so we are off to join friends at the farm once Maelle wakes up and after we have a quick snack.

-E

General updates

Today I had to stay home with Maelle because she has a cold.  She is in good spirits, however, the amount of snot coming out of her nose is insane - daycares do not really appreciate snotty children so we had to stay home today.

I had a Dr. appointment for her already scheduled for today to look at her finger; she was born with an odd growth/blister on the pad of one finger and last year we had it looked at by a dermatologist who said she didn't know what it was and to get it looked at again if it gets any bigger.  In the past week we have noticed that it is now growing down and under her finger nail so off we went back to her Dr. (who I really like).  He is Rob, Loic and Maelle's Dr - and my dad and brother also see him I think.

Her Dr. also doesn't know what it is and is going to send her to a pediatric dermatologist once he finds one.  Maelle chatted up a storm to him and he said she is a "Smart Cookie" - she was having a real conversation with him, pointing and talking and waiting for him to talk, so so so cute.  He said she would make a really good big sister - hint hint Rob!  Although, he has 4 grown kids and clearly loves kids so he might be a bit biased.  He had 4 kids in 5 years and always tells me how much he enjoyed having kids and loved it when they were little.  He is calmer than calm, maybe that helped??

Loic is still loving his daycare, which is great!  He has the best time there and loves the boys in his class.

I will have to do a garden update soon, things are happening!

-E

"Hands Off my Ice Cream!"

Today, my mom picked Loic up from daycare early and he hung out with her at her house.  He had a great time - she has 'big boy' lego at her house!  I left work and picked up Maelle, we went home to get changed and then we headed to join Loic and my parents for dinner at their house.

After dinner, my Dad handed out ice cream bars - I figured I would share one with Maelle but I was wrong....

She wouldn't share with me!  She burst into tear when I tried to take it away from her and proceeded to eat the whole thing - cheeky girl :)  Loic liked it too - must have been good ice cream bars!

I am looking forward to a nice weekend off, even in the rain.  I keep telling myself it is good for my garden.

-E

Happy Birthday Sweet Peanut!

Our baby is One.  And to quote her brother she is "Freaking Adorable" :)

Cute things she is doing right now:

- tickling herself after you tickle her (cutest.thing.ever)
- saying all sorts of things to you - can't understand her - but she sure tries!!
- standing up on EVERYTHING - Rob thinks she will be walking in the next month
- being generally sweet and adorable all the time
- she reliably says Ty Ty, Da Da, Ma Ma and is working on Doggy

We had a small, very informal, get together tonight with my folks, Linda, Jody & Nathan, Sabrina and Jess.  We also had a skype visit with Barb - aka East Coast Grandma :)  We are glad she could share in the party fun with us.  In classic weeknight party fashion I served: no appetizers, pizza from Panago and store bought cupcakes.  It was lovely.

Photo by Loic!!

 I look awful but she looks adorable!!

This is one of my favorite pictures, she sees her cupcake coming:

 "I see it coming!!!"

 Party guests (and Toby staring at the pizza)

 She, ahem, enjoyed her cupcake...a lot...

 Do did he!!

Every good party ends with cupcake in the eye!!  

Both kids had a tub to remove a lot of icing, then a quick play and cuddle then bed.

I cannot believe she is One.  She is such a big girl and we love her so, so, SO MUCH!!!!

-E

Yay gardening weather!

We have almost finished transforming our front yard from plain old lawn to a food producing garden!  So far I have put in:

- a row of raspberries (I put them in last two years)
- 3 large blueberry plants (they were free from a client of my Dad's and they are lovely)
- 5 dwarf blueberry plants (also free from the same client)
-3 baby blueberry plants (bought by myself - I need to find a new spot for them, they are too crowded where they are right now
- an italian plum tree - bought this weekend and yet to be planted

I also have put my perennial herb garden in the front so that I can easily access it.  My rosemary didn't live through the winter (this is the second one?) and I have too much oregano at the moment.  I will get a third rosemary - garden peeps, what am I doing wrong here?  I have chives, thyme and oregano there now but will have to add to it this year.  Oh, I need to add some parsley in there soon - it got taken out when I planted garlic last fall.  I will plant basil and dill in one of the raised beds this summer too.

So far in two of my three lovely raised beds Loic and I have planted (from seed): two types of peas, radishes, pearl lettuce, onion sets, and sweet peas (for flowers).  My Dad has given me some baby kale that needs to go in soon too.

I am so excited to see what that front yard will produce!!

-E