Timeless Fun

Remember Mr. Dressup? It was one of my very favourite TV shows while growing up. Indeed, one of my childhood ambitions was to get my hands on that man's tickle trunk. The possibbilities were endless! I never caught an item that showed up on the show more than once. The one thing I couldn't undestand though was how he'd just open up the tickle trunk and effortlessly pull out the required costume-never rummaging the way I had to with our own trunk of dressup clothes.
Such magic only strengthend the idea that dress-ups wielded a strong enchantment, and I played dress-ups a lot as a result. My kids are not much different. Although we don't have the possibilities of the tickle trunk, Ben and Brigham get quite inventive in finding what they need and often raid their parents clothes as a result. My shoes are a popular borrowed item. Scarfves coming up as a close second. Here are some pics from one of their latest forays. Enjoy!

Poem of the Month

Don't get me wrong-I enjoy salad. But when it comes to making them myself, I come up with something rather uninspired and often unappetizing as well. Such was the inspiration for this poem.

My Salad's Are Insipid

My salad's are insipid,
My meatloaf is a bore,
And as for my spaghetti-
No one ever asks for more.

I truly am a lousy chef
And my dishes never please.
But at least I can do one thing right...
I make great mac and cheese!

You Want S'More?

Marshmallows are a much-loved treat in our house. Last year for at least three months Briggy would beg, each night, for marshmallow pancakes in the morning. S'mores also happen to be my favourite dessert of all time... I just always hated the graham cracker component.
Not particularly tasty, they always seemed like crunchy cardboard. I'd eat 'em anyway though as a means to get to the delectable gooeyness that was toasted marshmallow and chocolate. Now though I have at last found a solution: homemade graham crackers.
I just baked some today and they're much more tasty- chewy squares with a hint of cinnamon. Much, much better! It wasn't long before we began to explore a bit and finally came up with a s'more cookie. A homemade cracker with marshmallow topping and topped with chocolate chips. Not as gooey as the real thing, but still pretty good. Behold the results.


My munchkins love marshmallows!


Out latest culinary creation.

*The witch would like to thank her wonderful mother-in-law whose finding graham flour for us made my quest to better s'mores possible. Love ya!

Winter Blah Busters

No doubt some of our Southern friends and family are already in the thick of spring, but up here we still have at least one more month to go (most likely two). Often it's too cold to go out of doors, which can get tiring after a few weeks. This has provided me ample oppurtunity to be creative as I battle boredom with this quest: how do I keep three active little boys busy?

Here's some of the highlights:
-Liam has been discovering both the joys of mobility and teething
-doing art every Thursday supplies Jason and I with an abundance of masterpieces with which to plaster the walls
-library storytime every week is a sanity saver
-when in doubt, build a fort
-baking is a fun adventure with all my keen helpers
-keep a few toys stashed away to bring out when things get hairy, novelty is your friend
-so is play-doh, construction paper, tape and glitter glue
-we've all become avid Kinect players (thank-you Darrin!)
-building a something massive will keep the kids entertained for some time (use marble tracks, blocks, Duplo, whatever. They're all great)
-reading books together will always help to smooth any ruffled feathers

Stay warm and stay sane everybody!

Welcome to Oz!

Given the Ozness of my blog, I feel compelled to share a new fantastic read that I've discovered this month. It turns out that "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" makes for a spectacular graphic novel. Reading it, I fell in love with the story all over again. For those of you poor souls who only now the Judy Garland movie, do yourselves a favour and treat yourself to this book faster than everyone else.

Another Poetry Pickle

Jason is at teacher's convention for the next few days, so here at home the boys and I all miss him terribly. I'd say that what Ben and Brigham miss the most are the tickle fights which so often ensue whenever Daddy is home. So today's offering is the poem Jason inspired. Love you sweetie.

The Tickleosaurus

The Tickleosaurus is coming!
The Tickleosaurus is here!
The Tickleosaurus will get you,
So run and hide my dear!

He’ll chase you around the table!
He’ll chase you around the chair!
He’ll chase you around the entire house,
Right into his lair!

You can run as fast as you’re able!
You can run with all of your might!
You can run, but soon he will catch you
For a great big Tickle-o-fight!

And then he’ll tickle your tummy!
And then he’ll tickle your toes!
And then he’ll tickle so very much,
You’re up and off you goes!

The Tickleosaurus will catch you, and from
The Tickleosaurus why hide?
The Tickleosaurus will tickle and tickle,
And you’ll laugh ‘till it hurts inside.

But here, I will tell you a secret,
But here, I will tell what to do.
But here-about Tickleosaurus…
Well he is ticklish too!

Balm for the Wound

Last week I took myself and my three little munchkins to Calgary for a family and city fix. Although we had a wonderful time at Nana's the one event of our stay that I'll never forget was the funeral.
My cousin Byron and his wife Rosie had their first baby just a few days before we headed to town. Amelia Mercedes only lived for seven hours. Living so far away as we do, my heart ached for them and yearned to help, but with something like this you can only do so much. I was very grateful that we were able to attend the funeral at least.
It was a bittersweet time, seeing loved ones and saying goodbye to this little cousin I shall now have to wait to meet. She is a beautiful little girl. I know that Amelia is safe in heaven, and that Byron and Rosie will not only see her again-but thanks to the temple-still get to raise their daughter, yet my heart is heavy nonetheless.
How grateful I am that families truly can be together forever! Over the past ten days I have been hugging my own precious little ones harder and longer than usual.I know that this is not the usual fare for my blog, but my mind has been churning ever since we were first told the news. I have yet to meet Amelia, but she has already taught me of two things. I suppose I knew them before in a way, but they're strongly reinforced now.
First of all that death is not the end, and what a glorious thing the gospel really is. The second thing is how precious children are. They're on loan to us from Heaven.
Anyhow, love to you all, and especial prayers for the Redd family right now.