Missed one already

I missed posting yesterday. That's just the way it goes around here.

I have been plotting out this coming week with careful thought. I have a thousand interesting things to do but they have all collided in one busy week. The fun starts tonight when I go into work for 6:30pm at the theatre for a rental show coming in.

Monday: substitute teaching at Sadie's school
Tuesday: Dave's birthday! The girls are excited
*Wednesday: "Tech Week Widows" dinner with 5 kids and three Mom's - fun!!!
Thursday: Girls night at our house with two out of town friends and one cute baby (I hope Cam comes)!!
Friday: day of prep for catering gig - birthday party for 30 people
Saturday: Birthday both girls are invited to that I am catering in the morning. Birthday party for Hannah to attend in the afternoon.

I will have 3 extra people for the catered lunches I make each day which brings me up to 8 full lunches and two small salads each day. And of course 5 yummy lunches for Hannah and 3 yummy snacks for Sadie. It's a full week alright but I have it all charted and I can manage.


*My friend Laura and I get together when her husband Mitch and Dave have to work long hours at the theatre for a couple of weeks leading up to the Opening of the show they are working on (aka Tech Week). She brings her two girls over after school and we feed them dinner, let them play, pop them into pj's and she takes hers home to bed at the end of a fun night. It's a really good way to get through what is otherwise a very long and lonely stretch of time. Dave typically leaves the house in the morning and isn't home before we are all asleep. The girls find it hard and ask for him a lot but distractions help so much. I am hoping the busy week will make it fly by for them

movie night

Hannah, you are snoring on the futon mattress on the floor in the living room. Your friend just left after a very successful "pretend sleepover". She's a little young to actually sleep here but she lives close enough to be picked up just before bed.

We started the evening off with soup and grilled cheese and veggies, then moved on to chocolate chip squares and ice cream. After a lot of giggling in the bathroom, pajamas were donned and we hit the living room for a movie and popcorn. And chocolate.......And pretzels.............and a bit more popcorn.

After your friend left, you flopped on the mattress and said "I can't sleep!" Needless to say, you were asleep in less than two minutes. Sweet dreams my beauty. (How could they be anything BUT sweet after all those treats!)

Snow and Lentils

I have joined a bloggers group to post something every day in the month of November. I have already missed 8 days, but here goes....

There are flakes falling here again today. Yesterday was the first sign of them. You know when the snow is sparse and hard to see.... I'm not sure if it's the disbelief that it's back after months of absence or the fact that the snow is so tiny and spread out that makes it so hard to see. I always have to blink a few times to know if I am seeing right.

I made a pot of lentil soup yesterday, which I haven't done in months. (instinct at the first sign of snow!) In fact, I bet there was still snow in the ground when I made it the last time. It is a recipe that lives only in my head, one that my Dad made countless times when I lived at home. I now make it through the winter months as a really good comfort food. We always have a little white vinegar on the table to splash in your bowl - a nice little brightness in the warm dark soup. I also always make croutons out of whatever bread is sitting around, just like my Dad did (really salty and crunchy). The only part I leave out is the smoked sausage (Dave doesn't know what he is missing out on because I never serve it with meat).

Thanks for the recipe Dad. It's kind of like you are still feeding me after all these years. I will be sure to pass the recipe on the Hannah and Sadie.

Croup

Sadie - you've got croup and this is the 4th night we've spent glued to each other (just like the picture). You are on the mend now but it's been long for you. I know because you totally lost it at dinner today. You were so determined to be the crankiest. You were drinking from your milk cup when you looked over and noticed that Hannah was drinking from hers too.
"No I'M drinking milk!"

(Hannah and I are guilty here of laughing a little)
"It's NOT funny"
Don't worry Sadie - Hannah and I managed to get you to find the humor in it!


Here you are eating a Clementine at 1:00am - our first box of the season!

Cupcake

The other day we had a playdate with a new kindergarten friend of yours Hannah. I made mini cupcakes for you to share. Sadie had her friend over too. We had a great little lunch together and a long play. By the time snack time rolled around, there were three cupcakes left. Sadie arrived two seconds too late as the last cupcake was scooped up and she immediately protested. You had your cupcake in you hand and had already taken a bite. Without a single moment of hesitation, you reached across the table and tried to hand Sadie your cupcake (which was exactly what I was wishing I could have done for her at that moment). Of course she was so upset that she refused it anyway but I just thought it was worth marking down. How amazing that you didn't even stop to think about the fact that you would have been the one to be left with no cupcake. Now THAT is what sisters do.

Apple Picking

Sadie at Preschool

Sadie - you are amazing me. I took you and Hannah to the Orchard House Family Picnic today and another Mom told me you were her hero. Her son Arman is in your class and he is not feeling too brave about school yet. His Mom sits in class with him every day and she gets the pleasure of watching Arman and YOU (I'm jealous!) and all of your friends enjoying yourselves. She told me how you carry yourself with grace around the classroom, playing and following along with your teachers. She commented on how you are the smallest and one of the youngest but also one of the strongest. You have clearly learned and benefited from having such a great big sister in Hannah. She is proud of you too.