Mommy & Sarah Day

So I woke up yesterday morning thinking that it had been a long time since I had kept Sarah home from day home just to have a Mommy & Sarah day. She has been a bit of a DRAMA queen lately...and I suspect that has lots to do with not getting enough one on one time with me. So I decided to fix that...

We started the day at McDonald's for breakfast and a long playtime in the Playplace. Sarah had the whole place to herself...it was wonderful...I chased her around and she wanted me to "catch" her as she came down the slide. Super fun!!!

After breakfast...we headed over to Laugh 'N' Learn so that Sarah could "spend" her birthday gift cards from Uncle Arnie and Auntie Patty. Little Miss Independent quickly gravitated to the Groovy Girls Dolls looking for a...PRINCESS. Really did you expect something different?!? Right now, Sarah is obsessed with anything princess or dragon...to the point she keeps asking me to return her Halloween costume and get the Dragon instead. I think this all started during summer vacation when we were reading her favorite book "The Paper Bag Princess" by Robert Munch.

After a trip to Micheal's...for some odds and ends, we had lunch at home. I have always wanted to try the Muffin Tin lunch idea...but since I'm not a SAHM the opportunity rarely presents itself. But today was the day. Here is my attempt:

 The flower cup filled with chocolate milk (my attempt to get Sarah to drink more milk), and the green silicone mold is from Wilton. I love the silicone trays...they make awesome cakes and are dishwasher safe...how
great is that!

So clockwise...Green apple slices with a blueberry filled toothpick to make the flower center, flower toasts, tulip shaped black forest ham cut outs (that was an oops...I grabbed the wrong cookie cutter), cheddar cheese slices (real Cheddar not processed cheese), snap peas and strawberry yogurt! As you can see, I barely had time to get a picture taken as Sarah was gung ho to get eating the Flower Box Lunch.

This is my lunch...left over BBQ chicken, some left over mixed green salad with tomatoes, green onion, cucumber and some Raspberry Vinaigrette from Kraft that is surprising decent. Still not better than homemade. 

Lunch was obviously a hit...she ate absolutely everything. I have to admit that the muffin tin lunch is a super easy way to figure out a preschool portion. Sarah ate everything and wasn't hungry an hour later. I'm definitely going to be trying this again.

After lunch, we attempted a nap with no success. Sarah was too excited for after nap as she knew we were leaving to go meet my parents in Red Deer. We headed to Red Deer and of course, Princess Ariana had to come along to meet Gramma and Papa.


I think it's so amazing that my three year old can recognize my parents vehicles from a distance...I passed a Blue F350...almost identical to my dad's...Sarah pipes up from the backseat..."That's not Papa's truck...there's no silver thing on the front)...meaning that the truck I passed didn't have a great big bush bumper on the front of it like my dad's. CRAZY!!


Anyways, the end of Mommy & Sarah day was a nice supper with Gramma and Papa...and a return trip to Edmonton with an added passenger: DOC!!! It is good to have our dog home from his summer vacation...but I wasn't quite ready for him to be home yet. I noticed that his end of summer sheding has begun.


Gotta go call the groomer...

30 Before 30...Wine List

So I started the 30 before 30 list after being inspired by a friend...one of my 30 is to try 15 different wines. Well, I've made a pretty big dent in the 15...so much so that my friend Shar suggested that I might have to make it 30 wines by 30...

1. Sledgehammer 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon ~ This is one that I have had before...but love it and had to include it on my list. They also make a very nice Zinfandel. My former sister-in-law Wanda-Lee introduced me to this Brand.

2. Jackson Triggs - Silver Series 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon ~ Got to keep some of the 15 (or 30) Canadian.

3. Cannonball 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon ~ Nice, but did not enjoy it enough to be a repeat.

4. See Ya Later Ranch 2008 Pinot 3 ~ Not really sure where this one came from...it appeared in our cooler after the family reunion.

5. Wolf Blass Yellow Label 2009 Chardonnay ~ Kent's sister Sophie brought this bottle with her to the family reunion and I had a glass. Not a favorite of mine.

6. Meditrina (6) ~ This is a really nice blend of Syrah, Zinfandel and Pinot Noir from Sokol Blosser in Oregon. Love it!!!

7. Lodi 337 Cabernet Sauvignon ~ Kent's mom Connie brought this wine as a hostess gift when she stayed with us for Sarah's birthday. I really enjoyed this one...Lodi also has 181 Merlot...which I am keeping my eyes peeled for to try.

8. Recline Ridge 2006 Shuswap Serenade ~ I absolutely love this white wine from the winery on the way to my parent's place in Blind Bay! I found this bottle in a box in my basement...I enjoyed every last drop!!

9. Woodbridge By Robert Mondavi 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon ~ Again an old favorite...but still really good!

10. Carmen Gran Reserva Naipo Alto 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon ~ This is beautiful wine from Chile. I will definitely be buying another bottle of this. My next door neighbour and I each had a glass of this during dinner on Sunday. Yum!




There have been a couple of other glass while I was traveling but I forgot to take pictures...oh well that just means I get to try a couple more...

The "Go Fish" Birthday Party

I was so excited about this party. Melanna helped me with theme ideas, games and some food ideas, but for the most part the ideas were my own. So imagine my disappointment when (for the third time in a row) the forecast turned UGLY and was calling for RAIN!!! So I regrouped and quickly turned as many of my activities into indoor activities. I will be making a few returns over the next week or so for stuff that we didn't or couldn't use...like the super cute whale shaped pool!!!


This is the fish cake that Kent, Connie (Kent's mom, Jennifer (my cousin) and I made the night before Sarah's birthday. We definitely over-estimated the size of the cake. Kent, Sarah and I ate birthday cake for days...on the upside...it was very delicious!!! The buttercream is homemade as was the cookies&creme filling, the scales were punched out of Wilton Sugar Sheets using an EK Success Oval Paper Punch from Stampin UP!

Here is some of the food...from left to right...gummy and hard candy fish from Bulk Barn, fruit tray, watermelon fish cut using a cookie cutter (tip: cut the watermelon slices a bit thinner than the depth of the cookie cutter...but too thin is no good either!), Fish Mix (munchie mix with goldfish mixed in), veggie tray.








What you can't see is fish sticks, french fries, and chicken dip its that formed the rest of our meal. Everyone had a blast. We didn't have much for leftovers...which is always a good thing.

As it turns out...I didn't get a photo of the loot bags...but they were white medium sized gift bags from Micheals...that my cousin Jennifer, stamped some fish on using a jumbo wheel stamp from Stampin UP!, then we put a homemade chocolate dolphin sucker, some fish stickers, a fish shaped water squirter, a crab or whale windup toy, and/or a set of dollar store neckles/braclets...oh...and a dollar store fish board book.

Here are the fish shaped sugar cookies that I made. Melanna supplied the wonderful sugar cookie recipe!!! These were a hit with the big kids too!!

Overall the party was a huge success even though it rained off and on all day. For crafts and activies, we taped up some Crayola Color Wonder paper on the wall and let the kids go to town with the Color Wonder markers and paints...crazy I know!! I had also ran off some fishy colouring pages which were a big hit. The kids also had fun "fishing" in the living room, with some plastic rods and magnetic fish (again...no picture! Next year I will try harder to get more pictures I promise!)

Big & Little Curtis, Sarah with Gramma

The best part of the whole day was when my mom "Gramma" showed up!! Sarah wasn't expecting my mom as my parents were out at the house in BC. Gramma rang the doorbell...and well Sarah couldn't believe it...think superexcited three year old..."Gramma Gramma Gramma" and a giant hug at the door. What a great surprise! That was probably my favorite part of the whole day...Sarah got a Gramma fix and I got a mom fix!

But next year...I think we are going swimming...I've decided to give up on hosting Sarah's birthday party outdoors. :(