Planning Evan's 3rd birthday party

I was having trouble deciding what to do for Evan's 3rd birthday party in July. We have never done any sort of theme. We have just done balloons and a cake. And so far we have been lucky enough that the weather has co-operated and we have been able to play in the backyard and splash around in the kiddy pool!

For Evan's first birthday I did cupcakes with a beach-y scene

For his 2nd birthday I did a train cake.

I have finally come up with something super fun but you will have to stay tuned! The creative juices are flowing!!

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I am so excited that the weather is finally nice enough to use the splash pads! It is one of my favourite summer activities. I probably have more pictures of Evan at the splash pad than anything else...I can't help it! He has so much fun and the excitement on his face is priceless. We went down to City Park last night after dinner

 and decided that we would start having dinner at the park and let Evan play in the water. I took him down this evening and he loved having a picnic and getting to splash around. The best part is that at bedtime he was out like a light!



Teeth Brushing

Evan is usually really good about brushing his teeth. He does a really great job but we like to make sure the back ones get done so we always finish up for him. He is usually pretty co operative about this but lately he's been more challenging. We have been doing the sticker chart. Every time he brushes he gets a sticker, and he is super excited to get a sticker. However, on the days he doesn't do a good job, or wont let us help him, he doesn't get a sticker. The problem is, he doesn't care if we don't give him a sticker. I don't get it. . . he's excited when he does a good job and gets a sticker but when we tell him he wont get one it doesn't seem to faze him. This morning I had to fight with him to let me brush and it resulted in tears. . . for both of us :( I have heard other moms say that their rule is "We do it the easy way or the hard way" The hard way meaning they usually have to hold their child down to brush. I did that this morning and I felt TERRIBLE!!!    I don't want teeth brushing to be a negative experience but how do we make him understand that it's non-negotiable? I read this article and we do most of these suggestions but it's like he has to be in the mood for it and when he's not in the mood he is super stubborn about it. Are our expectations too high? A part of me feels like he's still so young and to be more easy going but on the other hand I feel like since he's almost 3 that we should be more firm. What do you think?

We all scream for ice cream!

Evan recently told me he needed a hair cut ("It's getting very long, Mommy!") so Wednesday we went to Tortoise and The Hair to see Kelly! When we got there he decided he didn't want his hair cut after all. It took a bit of convincing and a promise of ice cream afterwards but he did an awesome job sitting in the firetruck! And his hair looks great :)

Doing the ice cream dance....

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It has become harder to get Evan to eat dinner these days. Yesterday someone posted this idea and I thought I'd steal borrow it (thanks Sara V.) I thought it was a great way to give him a variety of foods that he likes while still offering the same meal we're eating. Last night we had sausages and leftover Mac n' Cheese.

What's for dinner tonight?

Today was our last day of Kindermusik :( Evan had a great time this session. He really enjoyed the songs and playing the instruments. He was very happy back in April when Daddy surprised us and came to a class with us.

  

 Evan was not a big fan of the dancing portion of the class but he did enjoy dancing with Ella!

We are going to miss singing, dancing and playing instruments with the other kids, and especially or wonderful teacher, Alison!

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On Saturday we visited David's Tea downtown on Princess St. They have a huge selection of loose teas. Right now I am enjoying a cup of Coffee Pu'erh. Yummy! If you ever get a chance to go down and check them out, they have a lovely patio out back to sit and enjoy a cup of tea. . . hot or cold!

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About a year ago I discovered Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. Yes, she's Jerry's wife! :)  I love that since there are pureed veggies hidden in the main meal items, I don't have to sweat and struggle as much if Evan fights me about eating every bite of the vegetables he sees on his plate.  If he eats them, fine. If he doesn't, I have my backup plan - the secret or “deceptive” purees already hidden in the food. I enjoyed the book so much that I got the second one Double Delicious which is just as good. One of my favourite recipes from the first book is Macaroni and Cheese. This is what's for dinner tonight along with some chicken and veggies!

Macaroni and Cheese

With Butternut Squash or Cauliflower  (I have never tried it with the squash, I always do it with the cauliflower)

Prep time: 5 minutes, Total time: 25 minutes
Serves 4

ingredients

1 1⁄2 cups	elbow macaroni
	Nonstick cooking spray
1 tbsp	olive oil
1 tbsp	all-purpose flour
1⁄2 cup	nonfat (skim) milk
1⁄2 cup	butternut squash or cauliflower puree
1 1⁄2 cups	shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (about 8 ounces)
4 oz	(almost 1 ⁄4 cup) reduced-fat or nonfat cream cheese
1⁄2 tsp	salt
1⁄8 tsp	paprika
1⁄8 tsp	pepper

directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the macaroni, and cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain in a colander.
2. While the macaroni is cooking, coat a large saucepan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add the oil, then the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture resembles a thick paste but has not browned, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Add the milk and cook, stirring every now and then, until the mixture begins to thicken, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the vegetable puree, Cheddar, cream cheese, and seasonings, and stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Stir in the macaroni and serve warm.

Raising a Genderless Baby

Saturday I came across the headline Is this a Boy or a Girl? on the cover of the Saturday Star. A Toronto couple has decided to keep the gender of their 3rd baby a secret. The baby, named Storm, is 4 months old and they have shared his or her sex only with sons Jazz, 5, and Kio, 2, a close family friend and the two midwives who helped deliver the baby. The parents, Kathy Witterick and David Stocker, believe a child's sex should not determine his or her social status. The couple has received some harsh criticism  for their choice. What do you think? I think parents should support gender-creative children, for example, Evan often asks me to paint his nails, or wants me to put lip gloss on him when he sees me doing it. I also think it's ok for boys to play with dolls and girls to play with trucks. But is this family going too far? I encourage you to read the article and share your thoughts.

Yum!

Yesterday we made No-Drip Jello Popsicles from the Kraft Kitchens magazine. They were easy to make, super yummy and really didn't drip!

  Here's Evan doing a popsicle dance!

 Brrrr! It's cold!

 Beware of very red tongues when you're finished :)

The Way I See It #198

In March 2009 when Evan was about 8 months old, Steve and I took our little man out for a walk and stopped at the park for his first ride on the swing. Along our travels we stopped at Starbucks for a coffee. When I got home I read the little blurb on the cup "The way I see it #198". I almost never read these but for some reason on this day I did...

The Way I See It #198...
You can shower a child with presents or money, but what do they really mean, compared to the most valuable gift of all - your time? Vacations and special events are nice, but so often the best moments are the spontaneous ones. Being there. Every moment you spend with your child could be the one that really matters.
~Tim Russert, journalist

 

I hope everyone enjoys some family time this holiday weekend :)

What's in a name?

Do you like your name? Growing up, I hated my name. People called me everything from Karen to Corine, to Corinna, and even Kareem as in Abdul-Jabar!  And my favourite is that as I spell check this, Kareen keeps popping up as being wrong!! What's even worse, is that Kareen is my middle name. If you know my first name then you are in an exclusive club ;) So now that I have started to like the name Kareen, I have problems with my first name. You see, when you go to the hospital they only recognize you by your first name. When I got an account with PC Financial they sent my cheques to me with my first name on them...so if I ever have to write you a check I will be outing myself and you will become a part of the club...ha ha  Seriously, why do people do this to their children??  When Steve and I found out I was pregnant with Evan we thought very hard about what we would name him. We knew we wanted something easy to spell, easy to pronounce and one that he would not be made of for. And we also didn't want Evan to be known as "Evan B" so we picked a name we hadn't heard alot. Our top 3 names were Nicholas, Jack and Mitchell. I had always liked the name Evan but Steve wasn't sold on it. But we couldn't come up with a middle name. I kept trying to push "Evan" and one day I finally said "What about Evan Mitchell?" and Steve was sold :) We immediatly started to refer to him by name and were happy to share our decision with others. However, I know there are people who don't share the name they have chosen in advance in fear of what other people will say about it. Clearly my parents must have been those people otherwise I would hope that someone would have tried to talk them out of it!! ha ha :) But I shouldn't complain... I could have been named Bear Blu !! Can you imagine???
Coming up with a name for your child is no easy task! It's a name they will have for life so chose wisely!!

Oh! And coming up with a name for my blog wasn't easy either. Do you know where it's from? Here's a clue...

Me time? What's that?

When Evan turned two and a half back in January we made the decision to send him to nursery school. In all likelyhood he would have started in September anyway but we I wanted him to start earlier. Financially it was a tough decision. It was hard to justify spending an extra $120 a month when we only have one income coming in. However, I was really feeling like I needed to have a couple of hours a week for myself. I started going to the gym, going for walks at Lemoine Point, running errands, meeting a friend for coffee etc. and it has been FABULOUS! The best part is Evan LOVES school. He loves his friends, his teachers and even the class pet. He talks about school all the time and always asks when he can go back. Although I enjoy spending 2 and a half hours alone a couple of times a week there's nothing better than seeing Evan run to me when I pick him up from school with a giant smile on his face and saying "I had a good day Mommy!"

Welcome!

Hi :)  Welcome to my blog.
I am a stay-at-home Mommy to a beautiful, energetic and sweet little boy named Evan. He is the light of my life, he makes me laugh and he fills my heart with so much love. He also makes me want to pull my hair out most days ;) My partner in crime is Evan's wonderful Daddy, Steve. We have been together for 8 years. People ask us all the time "When are you having another baby?" and to be honest we have never set a time frame, although at our age we probably should. But don't worry, you'll be the first to know :)

I created this blog to share my adventures as a Mommy: things we do as a family, recipes I love, books I read, things I've learned along the way and how I try to stay as sane as possible. I don't claim to be an expert on parenting but I hope you can take away something from my experiences. Enjoy :)

Thanks to Becky at Serendipity Studios for this fabulous shot!