Freezer meals!

I love freezer meals! Who doesn't? I do this from time-to-time, whenever the mood strikes. Or whenever I'm over run with vegetables fresh from my garden. Hooray for fresh veggies! I recently tried the following new recipes. I had not planned on doing a big batch, so I didn't think to photograph my successes. Next time.

I'll update here as I pull them out, and let you know how they turned out!

Chocolate zucchini muffins (Uh oh! Cannot find this recipe!)

Crock pot chicken in a hurry (with wings and thighs)

Crock pot chicken cacciatore
Result: It's not the fanciest recipe so I wasn't expecting too much, but I was still pretty disappointed. I used veggies fresh from my garden, and my favourite tomato sauce (I haven't canned my own yet). It smelled awesome but it was really bland. 2/3 girls liked it, which is great, but I'll pass next time.

Crock pot marinated pork
Crock pot pork loin and veggies

Crock pot italian turkey soup
Result: Delicious! We're not big bean-eaters, but everyone at this up! Addison asked for seconds! I made it according to directions, and froze in two freezer bags. I served one bag at a time, and it was not enough. Next time I will double it and use two bags as one serving.

I also froze six cups of caramelized onions, an additional ten cups of shredded zucchini, and made amazingly awesome delicious yummy lemon zucchini loaf. The latter, however, did not make it to the freezer before it was eaten entirely. This may have happened twice. I've heard it freezes well. I need to try again when I'm home alone, so my family can't sneak in.

Now where were we?

It has been far too long since I last wrote in this. I kind of took a step back from blogs and some social media sites for a few months. It's nice to take a break. But it's also nice to keep a journal of sorts and keep track of the fun goings on in our lives, so here I am.

For the first time in months I can confidently say that I feel really good about myself and really happy in general. While I would love to be working and in school right now, I am truly enjoying being a SAHM more than I ever could have imagined. We are the luckiest parents of the most beautiful, hilarious little girl. Her personality is showing more and more each day, and her vocabulary is expanding rapidly. She was an easy baby and - knock on wood - she is a pretty laid back toddler. While I have been known to lose my cool a time or two, I have also learned to be patient with her. Anyone who knows me, knows how much of an accomplishment this is. She is still easy re-directed and I can often get her to talk out her problems before a mega meltdown even occurs. Not every time, of course, but it's a pretty solid start.

Our main concern lately has been her attachment. It's partly her age, but I'm sure it's exacerbated by Isaac being gone so often for work. She's with me so often that we're having some trouble getting her comfortable with others. She does warm up eventually but sometimes it takes a long time, and it really is exhausting to have her hanging off of my neck when we have company over. We're working on it.

In other news, Winter seems to have finally left. It felt like it never would. We kind of skipped Spring and we're into 25+ weather now. Pull out the shorts and dresses, Summer has arrived! Addison and I have been doing a lot of outdoor spring cleaning and gardening. She loves it. I've had so much fun watching her smell the flowers, point out the different colours, dig the holes, and pour the watering can. She has it all down pat. We planted some more goodies up front, and started both an herb and vegetable garden. Fingers crossed that we get something out of it.




I'm having a blast coaching U5 soccer this season. I had only intended to be a convenor but we had so many kids sign up that we were short coaches. My 12 11 (B. just quit) kids are amazing. It is such a fun challenge. I try to do a warm up, teach them a skill, and then do a scrimmage, but sometimes it goes better than others. I have a wide range of personalities from super duper shy introvert, to professional outgoing player. I can't wait to see how they all end up by the end of June. We're making huge strides already. Just last Thursday I had every single one of my kids on the field at some point during the game, and they all kicked the ball. This might not seem like much, but I was so impressed. I cannot wait for Addison and Morgan to play next year.

More updates to come soon (and more often)...

 

This and that

I'm not very good at keeping up with this blogging business. What have we have been up to lately...

 I'm finally off of crutches. I'm not too sure what the next step is for my knee. I'm waiting to hear back from Ortho, and we'll go from there. For now, I'm still taking it easy. I've started taking Addison outside, but it's difficult (and terrifying) to be on your own in town with a toddler who's faster than you are. Thankfully she's really good at holding my hand when I ask. The rule is that she must stay on the grass at all times, or we go inside immediately. Normally I'd let her wander a bit farther and give her one warning if she's too far, but at this point, I can't take the risk. If she were to run, I physically cannot run after her right now, so I keep her close by. It's only been a few days, but so far, so good.

I got a lot of (good) reading done while I was held up. I'm catching up on cleaning that didn't get done, and starting to conquer the house To Do list. So far I've painted the downstairs bathroom door, the Spare Room closet, and some of the trim. Baby steps.

I'm learning to garden. Yes, you read that correctly. Anyone who knows me probably thinks I'm kidding, but I'm enjoying it. It's not a full time favourite hobby by any means, but I'm starting to appreciate my new curb appeal. Mom has always loved flowers and gardening. It was never my thing. Now that we've done some landscaping and I've put together the two front gardens, I'm noticing a huge difference. I started small, with easy plants and flowers. I didn't want to take on more than we could handle. I'll see how everything makes out by the end of the Summer, and decide whether to take on more or less next year. So far everything is growing quickly and flowering nicely. This week I've had three people compliment me on the front gardens and our new plants. I've enjoyed brainstorming what could go where. It's actually kind of fun.

Mother's Day 2012: Bleeding Hearts, Hostas, yellow Lanium

June 1 2012: Everything is growing! Hens&Chicks in the front, as well

Hosta Garden (planted in 2011): Hostas, Flocks, white Lanium, and a random Lily that was here when we moved in

Not much is new around the house or with the tenants. No big issues; no big complaints. Isaac sold his bike last weekend. It was fun while it lasted, but he's not home often enough to justify the price of insurance and gas. The plan is for him to get one again once he's home full time. The guy he bought it from is great. He's coming to pick it up next week.

Addison is growing like crazy, and learning something new every day. Lastnight she started saying "Ya!" and "Yaaaaay," which she claps along with. She knows all kinds of body parts and animal sounds. She loves to count from 1-10 in English and French. She favours numbers two, five, and nine. She understands simple commands like "Sit on your bum," "Wash your arms," and "put it in the garbage." When you ask her to clean up or put something away, she'll happily put things back in their proper spot, one by one. If it's time to go, she'll say "Coat! Shoes!" She gets everyone else's stuff and gives it to them, then gets her own. When she comes in from having played outside, she immediately sits down and takes her shoes off. Sometimes she doesn't even let the door close. She loves to read, and will point out things she knows in her books, such as cars and dogs. While reading about the Berenstein Bears going to bed recently, she said "Night night."

She's had a hard time with men lately, besides Isaac, and sometimes her Grandpas. She'll cry and turn her head, so as to not even see them. It takes her a long time to warm up to them, if she ever does. She's been a little more clingy and upset with small crowds lately as well. She sees other babies and young kids regularly, but I think I need to make a point of it more often. Now that I'm starting to venture out again, I think I'll take her to play group weekly. She'll also have swimming lessons again later this Summer. It's good for both of us.

I think that sums up our last few boring weeks. I leave you with this crazy picture from this morning, of my little toddler tornado. I went upstairs to get dressed. In that time, she managed to take her jumper off, empty the bin of baby supplies, empty a container of wipes, open and dump out a pack of diapers, dump her Cheerios on the floor, and pull a blanket off the couch. There's also a random measuring cup in the Living Room that was not there before I left.