the house of sick...

Yes. For a better part of 3 weeks now I have been sick. Desperately sick at first. Aches, pains & chills. Wicked headache. Fever. Followed up by vomiting, diarrhea and coughing. When I was finally able to get in to see my doctor, she sent me for a chest x-ray, and blood work. The chest x-ray showed pneumonia. No x-ray could show just how miserable I felt. So a course of anti-biotics was prescribed, along with lots of rest. I spent most of 2 weeks in bed. Ron had to travel to Toronto for work, but he was able to take Tyler to school on the first day. My friend Josephine drove him for the rest of the week. Hunter made school lunches for both herself and Tyler. We stocked up on frozen Michelina dinners....not the best option...but I don't have a Grandma in my neighbourhood. **Sigh** Thank goodness for girlfriends. Laurie dropped by with ginger ale, saltine crackers, soup, and tea. Theresa came by with delicious homemade chicken soup, bread and flowers. Shelley delivered a pot of steaming borscht...the best borscht I have ever had. Laurie treated me later in the week with the latest magazines...a House & Home Makeover issue, the Martha Stewart Halloween issue and another decor magazine. I am so very grateful for my friends. They really helped me make it through a miserable 2 weeks. I am feeling better now, although my cough still lingers and my energy is not yet up to speed. On Monday, Tyler was diagnosed with pneumonia after 4 days of fever. So I have been nursing him back to health as well. We have been running the vaporizer night and day. Lots of old-fashioned methods have been employed....vicks on the chest, lots of honey, hot water & lemon, lots of water to drink and chicken soup. Naps and many glasses of ginger ale. I have no idea how I caught the flu/pneumonia. It hit hard and fast and knocked me off my feet. I hope that this is my major winter illness over with for this year.

meet the lovely sophistimom...

One of the blogs I really enjoy is Sophistimom. It is written by a talented mom of 3 named Jaime whose parenting mantra is "Well read. Well bred. Well Fed". She shares a blog full of recipes and the photography is her very own....she has amazing skills both in the kitchen and behind the camera. All of her recipes are so beautifully photographed that you are inpsired to make everything she features because it just looks so dang delicious. I love making my kids homemade treats for their school lunches as I have a strong dislike for pre-packaged things that are full of not-so-good ingredients.
As a back-to-school feature last week, Jaime showcased recipes that would make excellent school bake sale treats. I loved this feature and the Peach Cobbler Bars are but just one of the amazing treats she shared with her readers. The following features both her photo and recipe instructions. Enjoy!

Just a word of warning: in the experimenting, I made them in a 9 x 13 inch pan, so in the pictures, you see a much thicker bar than how the recipe says to make them. After finishing them, I decided it would be better to spread them out thinner so that the cooking time isn’t so long, and you get more bars from the same batch. If you don’t have a nice half sheet pan, though, or want the thicker bars, you can definitely make them in a 9 x 13 inch pan. Simply reduce the temperature to 325 (165 degrees celsius), and bake for about 10 to 20 minutes more.
peach cobbler bars
1 cup (2 sticks or 224g) unsalted butter at room temperature2 cups (380g) granulated sugar1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract1 teaspoon pure almond extract4 eggs3 cups (300g) unbleached all-purpose flour3/4 teaspoon salt
for the filling:6-7 peaches, peeled and thinly sliced1/4 cup brown sugar1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
for the glaze:1 cup powdered sugar2 tablespoons cream1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 180 degrees celsius). Grease a large cookie sheet (half sheet) with butter or nonstick spray. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar, until smooth and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add in eggs, one at a time, incorporating well after each addition. Add in vanilla and almond extract. Slowly add flour and salt, and mix until just incorporated.

2. Spread three-fourths of the mixture into the prepared pan. Mix the peaches, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium sized bowl, and distribute evenly over the batter. Drop the rest of the batter by tablespoonfuls over the peaches, and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden brown.

3. Whisk together the powdered sugar, water, and cream and drizzle half of the mixture over the warm bars. Allow to cool, cut into 3 inch squares, and drizzle over the remainder of the glaze.

eight new little feet in our house...

The kids have been wanting a puppy for over a year. The request appeared on the christmas list. It appeared in letters written to Dad during summer vacation. It was the request that would not go away. So on Sunday morning, Ron roused me out of bed early to look at puppies on Kijiji. We viewed some really cute puppies which led to a discussion about breeds. Althought we loved our Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Brandy, we felt a smaller breed would be better for our children. We wanted a dog that they could handle on their own....take for walks, play and feed on their own. We decided a breed that would be 10 to 15 lbs. fully grown, and that did not shed, would best suit our family. Ron began calls and made an appointment to meet with a breeder to look at some Shih-tzu puppies that were 2 months old. We surprised the kids with the announcement that we would be going to look at a puppy.....they were beyond excited.


Little did we know that we would meet 2 completely adorable puppies...sisters from the same litter and the last of a litter of 6 puppies. Our intention was to go home with 1 puppy...but Hunter chose the puppy with a lot of black, while Tyler chose the puppy with a lot of white. Hmmmm. I looked at Ron and asked if we could take both home. He said, "Are you crazy?". I said nothing more, but the next thing I knew, he was doling out money for 2 puppies and we went home with each child holding a little puppy on their lap. Oh happy day!
This little girl that Tyler is holding is a chunky little puppy who likes to sleep a lot. She is also a very laid-back puppy. He chose the name "Rigley" for her, along with a blue collar and leash, as well as an Oilers bandana. She will be completey ready when hockey season starts!

This little girl is quite delicate in build and full of pep. She gets into things quickly and looks for trouble. Hunter named her "Molly" and chose a pink collar and leash for her.

And by the way, the color of the bucket and mop is red.

Happy Birthday Sweetie!!

Your Dad and I cannot believe it has been 13 years since we held you in our arms for the first time....our little curly girl has grown into a lovely young lady. Hunter we are so proud of the young person you have become....your amazing grades in school, your passion for your skating, your dedication to the little children you tutor in french reading, your love of literature and your yummy cookies from the kitchen. I cherish the goodnight kiss you give me at bedtime.

Kisses to our big girl.

room with a view...

A pink room for the little 8 year old girl that moved into this house.

The almost 13 year old young lady decides she would like a little more sophistication...so after a shopping trip with Dad to buy new bedding....and a trip to the paint store with Mom.....

This one day project is done. A new room for a young lady. Happy Birthday Sweetie!! xo

Nie Nie....

Meet Stephanie Aurora Clark Nielson. She is lovely. A wonderful wife and mother of four. Also a talented blogger who writes the "nienie dialogues". She wrote about the joys of being a mother, wife, and keeper of the home. It was amazing stuff to read....and was, and still is, one of my favorite blogs. Nie lived in Arizona with her family....a happy life.

August 16, 2008 is a day that all of us nie nie dialogue readers will NEVER forget. Nie and her husband Christian were in a plane crash while on a short day trip to New Mexico. All 3 occupants of the plane were seriously injured. Friend and pilot, Doug Kinneard, died the next day of his injuries. Christian and Stephenie both clung to life with severe burns over much of their bodies. The reports were not good. Stephenie suffered burns over more than 80% of her body, and was not expected to live. Her four small children were taken to Utah to live with her sisters. Nie's sister, Courtney, kept us blog readers updated as to her condition. Stephanie was in a medically induced coma for months while burn unit experts worked away at repairing her body with skin grafts. All of us nie readers prayed and the blog community went to work with fundraisers to help the Nielson Family. And slowly, progress was made. Nie woke from her coma in November. She was moved by air ambulance to Utah to be near her family in December. She learned to walk again. In January she came home to her family. She started blogging again on January 16, 2009...exactly 5 months after the accident. She has worked hard to overcome body pain, regain the use of her limbs and to reclaim her role as keeper of the home. And slowly, she is regaining her life. Her biggest struggle lately has been dealing with her new appearance. She recently shared this picture with her blog readers...the first time we have 'seen' her since the accident.

I think she is more beautiful than ever.

She has made amazing progress and in my heart, I cheer for her every day.

I read with joy as Nie wrote about the happiness of making school lunches for her girls as they started a new school year this week. Something so mundane a chore as the making of school lunches, which all of us mothers bemoan at times,....... brings Nie great joy....because she is here.

She has walked through the fire. She has lived to tell the tale.

She is living, breathing and taking care of her family. And she is keeper of my heart for her courage.

home....

Home just feels so good. Lots of people are complaining about the amount of rain that is coming down...but I am taking a "glass half full approach". There are so many things to enjoy...the company of family and friends....the beautiful lush green plants everywhere...good food and fresh seafood...and a total slowed down pace of life. My kids had so much fun with their "Chicago Cousins"....we hung out with them everyday and played and ate and visited. It was pure bliss.

Dear daughter was invited for a 3 day camping trip to PEI with some friends...and we were so very grateful for this wonderful invitation. She came home looking so happy and refreshed. We have had friends from the city drive to the Valley to see us. We are truly blessed.