Breakfast

I cook breakfast. Not every day, but at least once or twice a week.

My husband gets tired of having toast every morning for breakfast so I try to mix it up for him on a somewhat regular basis. I don't cook breakfast all the time but we all seem to eat a bigger meal if I actually make something. Pancakes, waffles, french toast, baked oatmeal - it's all fair game; buttermilk, blueberry, pumpkin - variations are welcome.

Yesterday morning we tried a recipe I found here. Oatmeal waffles. The batter looked a little suspicious and I warned my husband that I didn't know how they were going to turn out and that I would never make them again if they were horrible. But to our surprise and delight, they were delicious. "Baked oatmeal in waffle form" was the verdict as my husband inhaled his breakfast. 

Apparently the recipe now has a permanent home in the cookbook. And I would love to be able to show you what our breakfast looked like but alas, my camera's cord is residing 4 hours from here and so pictures will be absent for a while. So, you'll just have to use your imagination. 

Mmmmm.... steaming waffles with a light coating of buttermilk syrup.... light and fluffy but yet substantial and filling.... mmmmmm.... waffles....

25 weeks and counting

Update: 
I now have only 13 weeks to go. I have gained over 20 lbs and am feeling pretty darn good. What's changed? I found out that my back troubles were more than likely caused by my hips spreading to accommodate the baby and my muscles were protesting. That and my posture was pretty poor. So, with the help of a few stretches, my muscles have loosened and my back troubles are no more. And with that, dish washing is back in my repertoire. Whooohooo....

Hi, my name is Joelle and I am pregnant.

Or should I say that my husband and I are expecting a baby?

Either way, regardless of your preference or mine, I am indeed growing a baby. And one that is continually taking up more space. Demanding little bugger!

I've had quite a few people ask me how I'm feeling and if this pregnancy feels different than my first. Let me try and tackle these questions here so that you don't have to wonder any more.

I'm feeling pregnant. I have a being kicking me, rolling inside me and generally putting pressure on organs (and ribs) that should never feel pressure. I am now to the point in my pregnancy where everything is getting more difficult. No more bending over to put on my socks and shoes, no more sitting comfortably for long periods of time, no more clothes that fit right. Oh, and after discovering that it was washing dishes that was causing the pain in my lower back, no more dish washing for me!

This is my second pregnancy. My body was in a different shape after my first pregnancy and probably never regained the same muscle tone that I had possessed before the birth of my first child. Also, I have a too-cute toddler running around my house that I am supposed to try to keep up with. So, in answer to your question, YES, this pregnancy feels different. But some things do stay the same: the joy of hearing my baby's heartbeat, the contentedness I feel as the baby kicks and the thrill of the roller-coaster-stomach-drop as the baby rolls around in its home. Those things are the same and I still enjoy them.

And on that note, this is my current state:

And while I was waiting for the camera to take this picture, I realized just how much I actually do fill out this shirt. This one will soon be in the "too small" pile... and so it goes.

Hammer & Nails

As mentioned in a previous post, our son likes to do whatever we are doing with whatever tool we are using to do it. This does not just apply to kitchen items, but applies to household items as well. 

As we are still in the midst of renovating our house, household items often include a hammer and nails. 

Which means our son has grasped the concept of what to do with hammer and nails and makes sure he gets a chance to try out these particular concepts. He is surprisingly good at it, too! He isn't strong enough to hammer very hard but he can lift the hammer and knows that he is supposed to be hitting the nail on its head.

Did I mention that he HAS to use Dad's hammer? No other hammer is the same...

Snow

This time of year, we live in the land of snow. Or the great white north. Whichever you prefer to call it. Regardless, there is snow on the ground and will be until April. Welcome winter.

This is the first winter that our son has been aware of. He was born at the end of winter and last winter he was too concerned about getting mobile to pay attention to the white stuff outside. But this winter? He is well aware of snow, cold and all the accessories that come along with it. Like his boots. And his snowsuit. And mitts. And toques. And he isn't a big fan of any of them. Oh, he likes to wear his boots around the house. And he doesn't mind getting dressed in his snowsuit because it has something to do with being able to go outside but he just doesn't like being outside in all the get up. And who can blame the kid? Really, who likes being dressed up like a big marshmallow and then told to go play? The kid can barely walk on the shovelled driveway, let alone in the snow without listing to one side and then falling over.

So, what does he do? He eats snow.

He eats it off his mitts.

He eats it off the carpet by the door after it has been tracked in on our boots.

And he eats it out of a bowl.

A bowl full of snow that I went out and got for him, begrudgingly, wondering what kind of kid ASKS for a bowl of snow to eat.

And is completely satisfied to have it plopped in front of him and to be able to eat it.

Who knew?

Baking

Our son likes to do whatever we are doing. And he wants to use what we are using when we do what we do. For example, my husband has been trying his hand at baking bread. Our son has to be in the kitchen, stirring the pot, preferably the one his dad is using. I usually diffuse this particular situation by just letting the kid help me but seeing as how Dad is still learning the art of baking bread, we gave the kid his own bowl of flour to stir.

And that is about as long as that lasted. 

Who'd be happy with a bowl of flour when there is a great big bowl of bread dough right beside you?!

Talking on the Phone

So, we finally figured out the secret to getting our son to "talk" on the phone. All day long he'll talk on his cell phone, yammering away about who knows what, but as soon as we put the real phone to his ear and he could hear a voice on the other end, he'd smile sweetly and become mute. Hmph.

This is my son talking on the phone to his Grandma Karen:

Did you notice that he was in the middle of telling her a story. The boy didn't even notice the camera.

And then he noticed it.

And then he wanted it.

But it doesn't really matter because I got the pictures I wanted and he got to talk on the phone like he wanted. The secret? Don't let the person on the other end talk.

It'll get him every time.

Sigh.

Nothing warms my heart as much as seeing my two boys playing together:

And both of them having a good time.

Too cute

This is how badly my son wanted my camera:

Can you hear him saying, "Please, pretty please, Mom?"? I hope so, because all I heard was, "Give me the toy, Mom, I want to fix it with my hammer".

Either way, sometimes he is just too cute for his own good.

This 'n That

Lane has been perfecting the art of throwing a ball. And he's doing pretty good at it. Although he is fairly particular about where you are supposed to stand to catch it and where he is supposed to sit or stand to throw from. About 50% of the time he gets the ball where he wants it - and about 50% of the time his dad manages to catch it. Regardless of the outcome, it is a fun game to watch.

We found a wooden train set at a garage sale last summer. It has been sitting in a box  in our garage since then. We finally dug it out when we went out to the cabin for our anniversary in September. It was the one inside toy we took along with us and wow, did it do the trick. He loves playing with it (when he isn't distracted by one of his many other toys). He is starting to catch on to how the track fits together and Auntie Laura has taught him the appropriate sound to make while running the train on the track. Don't tell Lane, but he has some additional train pieces waiting for him at Christmas.

So wearing the headphones isn't new but wearing the "Daddy's Little Helper" apron is. The kid loves it. He wore it to bed the other day. And had to wear it out to when he and his dad came to pick me up the other day. His obsession with it is slightly humorous... and really, this picture is just cute.

The newest trick in his collection is using one of his train cars to "skateboard". He saw a highschool student go down our street on a skateboard the other day and ever since he has been "skateboarding" all over the house.

Our last nice day?

Thursday of last week was a beautiful day. Well, it was a beautiful day for late October. The sun was warm, the breeze was cool and we tried to make use of every minute of it.

Our house is partly sided now. The part I see every time I do dishes looks great - the part the neighbours see when they look out their windows still looks the same. Faded house wrap. Oh well, there is always next year, I suppose.

Lane still loves being able to get outside. This particular day he ate his strawberries in front of the back door. He enjoyed sitting in that spot all summer so it was a fitting conclusion to our nice weather.

Did I say conclusion of our nice weather? After the way things looked this morning, I think it is a fair statement. I'm not sure everyone around here would agree with that sentiment but it IS the end of October. And besides, Christmas just wouldn't be the same without snow. 

And so it begins

This is what we saw when we looked our window this morning:

Lane was absolutely mesmerized by the sight and had to be coaxed away from the window to eat his breakfast. His father was shocked that it snowed so quickly after we had been having such nice weather. And his mother? Well, I think there is something nice about a snow. Especially when I can stay inside my house and curl up with a cup of hot chocolate.

It continues to snow so it will be interesting to see how much we end up getting and how long it lasts. In the meantime, I think I'm going to hunt down that cup of hot chocolate.

Sunflowers

We loved the way these flowers looked in our yard this year:

So we did this:

so that we can have more next year. Apparently the boy child doesn't like to deal with prickly subjects.

Lavras, Polish, Ladoga, Prelude

Wheat.

That's what the list in the title is. Different types of wheat. In fact, they are different types of wheat that my husband grew in his garden this year. The wheat did wonderfully and was great for making the neighbours stop and scratch their heads. Fortunately, wheat isn't susceptible to blight and frost doesn't hurt it too badly so we still had wheat to harvest this fall (unlike many of our other plants). However, wheat isn't the easiest thing to harvest...

First you have to cut it. And then bundle it. And then beat the grain out of the heads. And then get rid of the chaff. That last part is the fun part. That's where you get to throw a handful of grain up in the air and let the wind blow away the unwanted parts and let the grain fall back on the ground. Just like this:

What kid wouldn't have fun helping dad with that?!

Rocking Horse

As we were looking through our garage earlier this fall, we came across a toy that we had forgotten about: Lane's rocking horse.

When we put it in the garage, he could sit on it but that was about it. He couldn't rock it, he couldn't climb up on it and he needed constant supervision because he was liable to fall off sideways. Not anymore.

The kid can climb. The kid can rock. The kid can even stand. This kid is all about the rocking horse.

Long time no see!

I have been kindly harassed by a few people suggesting that I need to put up a new blog post. Frankly, I have been having fun doing other things and haven't made the time to blog. I've been working. And planning our Moms 'n Tots programming for the year. And knitting. And plotting my next sewing project. And growing a baby. And looking after a toddler. And watching my husband side our house. See, all fun things. Oh, did I mention that I signed up to sell Usborne books, in all my free time?

That's my life in a nutshell or two... and to think I was looking forward to things slowing down this fall. That's a good laugh or two.

But really, most of you just want to see the latest pictures of my child. Well, this is the most up-to-date one I have:

Fortunately (for me) this time around I was able to see more of my ultrasound so I know what this is a picture of. It's a profile picture of my baby's head and torso! It was quite a lot of fun meeting this baby and seeing all the different parts of it. The tech wasn't rushed with the ultrasound like he was with Lane's so I got a significantly longer tour this time. It was exciting and Jamie assures me that this child is just as ugly as its older brother was.

Oh, did you stop by here to see pictures of my toddler? Hmmm... I'll have to see what I can dig up for your viewing pleasure.

Another Visitor

Auntie Laura came for a visit. Actually she was just killing time before she could move into her dorm room at Nipawin Bible College, but we loved having her around for a few days. Lane enjoyed having one more person to play with and I enjoyed having my sister around to hang out with.

Laura hadn't been at our house since she left school in April so Lane had fun introducing her to all the new toys he's accumulated over the summer.

We made sure she had fun too. A one-of-a-kind cookie baking experience, doing dishes, eating pumpkin pie that featured her fingerprints right in the middle, you know, all the fun stuff of staying at your older sister's house. Ah, the memories.

A Surprise Visit

On the spur of the moment, my husband sent my mom, Lane and me out to BC to visit my grandparents. It was a fabulous trip as it was a change of scenery and a change of pace for us. Lane managed to do pretty well on the flights, but it did help that it was only 2 one-hour flights each way. And I had my mom to tag-team him with.

My grandparents enjoyed the surprise visit and enjoyed seeing Lane again, especially as he is a year older than the last time they saw him. My aunt, who lives in Washington, also came up to visit with us.

Grandma Friesen, Lane, Auntie Becky

We played, went for walks, played some more, ate vereniky with butter gravy as only grandma can make it and just generally had a leisurely visit. The weather was beautiful; we could see Mt. Baker out my grandparents' living room window just about every day while we were there.

Four Generations

Grandma Friesen, Lane, me, and my mom

My grandpa had fun digging out all sorts of toys. Lane loved just about anything Grandpa could find him. Grandpa also dusted off the games he used to play with us grandkids when we were much younger and tried 'em out on Lane.

 

Lane seemed to approve.

Visitor

Auntie Tara came to visit!

Lane loved all the extra attention; Auntie was more than willing to play with him and listen to all his "stories". They read books together,

played Lego together, played trains together, picked blueberries together and went to the park together. 

 

 

Just to name a few things. 

Thanks for coming to visit; we had a blast!

La Ronge

We continued our way north after dad's triathlon up to my aunt and uncle's cabin at Lac La Ronge. We enjoy going there because it is so peaceful. And there is water. And there are trees. And it's a getaway. Especially this year as Jamie's work has been pretty busy. The trip allowed us to get away from phones and computers and to just enjoy being outside.

My cousin, Lisa, and her family were up at the cabin at the same time as us. It was great to see them again and Lane really enjoyed playing with her girls. We spent lots of time at the beach, building sand castles and splashing in the lake. The kids had a blast throwing rocks in the water and going for walks. We even tried to go wild blueberry picking. Lane loved it; he quickly became adept at finding the blueberries and picking them so he could have a snack.

The husbands even pitched in and helped with dishes. It was a wonderful getaway.

Lisa, Cadence, Gwen, Larry, me, Lane, James

My uncle took Jamie and Cam (Lisa's husband) fishing up north of Stanley Mission. Apparently it was a good trip because not only did they come home with plenty of fish but my non-fishing-loving husband enjoyed himself.

Here he is with his big catch: a 5 pound northern pike.

 

We came home with some of the pickerel Jamie caught; it is now in the freezer, just waiting to be fried up!

Waskesiu

My dad participated in a triathlon in Waskesiu the beginning of August. We try to see at least one of his races each year and with this one being so close, we had to check it out. 

This race was different than usual; it was longer. That seems an awfully simplistic way of explaining the race but I suppose it is the most accurate. He had to swim 1.5 km (in the lake), then bike 62 km, then run 13 km. His goal was to do it in 4 hours.

Now, I'll be quick to admit that my family can be weird and you may be thinking, and rightly so, that my dad is a little crazy, but I'd just like to mention that there were about 200 other competitors that would take you on if you decided to voice your opinion. And you can't outrun 'em. So we go and cheer him on, learn about triathlons, marvel at the stamina of the human body and secretly wonder if we could do it if we had enough determination. Welcome to the world of triathlons.

I'd usually have a picture to show you of the swim but this time I didn't take one. The picture really doesn't tell you anything. My dad is one of 200 people wearing a wetsuit and a swim cap. You try and pick him out. 

We'll pick up the race with the bike. This is my dad's strongest section; I would venture to say it is also his favorite. He has this fast, very cool-looking bike that he likes to use to make up any time that he may have lost during the swim. It was also a good test for my camera.

After the bike comes the run. Which I can't fathom doing because my legs would be rubber. I'd be lucky to be able to stand after biking 62 km.

But here he is. Off and running.

Dad coming through the finish line. He finished in 4 hours, 15 minutes.

He was exhausted. But he finished, and he finished well.

Way to go Dad!

Just to make you smile

Because this picture never fails to make me smile.

What can be better than watching father and son play together?

Garden Update

As you can see my sunflowers continue to do well. We got home from the lake to find they had grown over a foot while we were gone. These flowers are "volunteer" flowers. They grew from seeds that fell out of the flowers I had planted there last year. They certainly didn't do this well last year and so we are impressed with how well they have done this year.

As for our garden. Well, things are not all rosy in the land of tomatoes and potatoes. We have been hit with Late Blight. And what a blight it is on our garden! We're not sure that we'll get any tomatoes this year...so now you can feel free to ask me what I'll be doing in September. It is an unfortunate thing, mostly to do with how wet this summer has been. More than 48 hours of 75% humidity and the chances of this blight hitting rise significantly. Not a fun way to finish the gardening season. Our only claim to fame will be that it is the same blight that caused the famous potato famine in Ireland.

The rest of the garden seems to be doing all right. We're eating carrots out of the garden, the strawberries have another crop ripening and the dwarf corn produced a cob or two.

Rain

The story goes something like this:

My parents were up for a visit. My mom and I decided we should go for a walk downtown and do a few errands. There were some dark clouds coming in but my husband assured us that we had a little while before the rain started.

Seriously. Do I need to finish this story?

We got a couple of errands done and noticed the clouds were coming in rather quick. The wind was picking up and the air was cooling off. We decided we'd keep going as the clouds didn't look very big so we figured whatever was moving in wouldn't last very long.

It started to sprinkle. But we're not made of sugar. We wouldn't melt.

And then it started to pour. We ran for cover. And hid out in the post office along with a handful of other people. We watched the water cascade down in sheets, we watched people get their mail looking like drowned rats and we watched and we watched. Finally, it started to let up. A bit. For some reason, rain always looks less wet than it actually is. My mom decided that it had let up enough that we should just make a go of it. She had a hat; Lane had a hat, besides, it couldn't be that bad. And she was tired of watching my dad drive by in the car and not being able to flag him down.

So we started walking. Well, more like jogging. It was cold. And wet. And I made sure that the world knew how I felt about being cold and wet while wearing a tank top, capris and flipflops. But my son seemed to think it was humorous as long he could see his mom puddling away in front of him while his grandma pushed him in the stroller.

We made it home. And the rain had pretty much stopped by the time we got there. Of course. Needless to say, we were wet.

But we were greeted by a great big puddle at our back door. Perfect for the supervised puddling of a one-year-old.

So that's what we did.

What's new around here

Lane has a sandbox. With sand in it. And he is loving it. And so is his mother.

 

Lane has a kid-sized table and chairs. This is the same set that my Grandpa Friesen made for me when I was little. My parents have graciously let it take up space in my house instead of theirs...if it wasn't so darn handy and if Lane didn't like it so much, I may have a different view on the set.