Chickadee Manor

An excellent way to end an evening

My wonderful parents brought us stroopwafels when they returned from their vacation (along with some really yummy gouda cheese and other treats!) and last night I thought it would be lovely to have one alongside my final cup of coffee of the day and our annual winter beeswax candle.  Methinks I will do the same tonight!

Homemade raspberry jam

Riley and Abby decided to make me some jam from raspberries they have been picking in the backyard.  After a couple of days of picking they figured they had enough berries to make jam (we're at the very end of the season here).  They smooshed, added sugar and water, and then kept it in the fridge for a full day before letting me taste it.  It was delicious!  Here is the "jam".

Smoothie mania!

I am so thrilled to finally be able to get fruit into our pickiest eater.  We've been making a lot of smoothies the last few days and she has been our number one smoothie consumer.  Hooray!  So far we've only made fruit smoothies with yogurt added in, but I hope to branch out into adding veggies.  It's nice to know the kids are getting what they need nutritionally regardless of the format. 

In the mood for baking and making

It is FREEZING here today (-40 to be more specific!).  I really don't want to go outside.  I want to stay inside and eat warm, yummy things.  We made some tea biscuits at lunch (the oven also helps to warm up the kitchen!) and I'd like to try some bread later today.  The kids would also like to try making "Wookiee Cookies" from the Star Wars Cook Book.  Just reading the cook book and looking at the pictures is fun, if the recipes are as well tested, we'll likely have to get its sequel as well.   

Star Wars is huge around here right now!  It seems to be the favourite topic of play and conversation amongst all 5 and 6 year old boys we know.  Yesterday, Hendrik went to a birthday party and came home with an inflatable light sabre and a plastic mask for some sort of trooper or other (Dwayne is the Star Wars expert around here).  It was a bit conflicting for him as the bad guy wouldn't have actually used a light sabre, but who wants to put down a light sabre?  His sisters didn't quite go for playing the bad guy either so he alternated between mask up and mask down and also morphed good and evil into one character for a time so he could wear both at once.

The little girls are very into paper and glue at the moment.  I think this afternoon will bring the creation of more paper chains.  I'm going to try to locate some scrapbook paper pads that I picked up for 80% off last fall at a craft store and let them cut and glue to their little hearts' content.  There are also some very pretty/girly/sparkly projects on our list from some of the Usbourne Make and Do Books as well.  Abby chose "Things for Girls to Make and Do" at the library the other day and has been perusing it every day looking for the projects that have pink and/or hearts.  We've found a few others inexpensively over the last couple of months and have been enjoying what they have to offer.

            

Riley has been making little things with assorted materials - paper, pipe cleaners, and pinecones.  She's already made an ornament which she is itching to present to its intended recipient.  

I'm feeling a bit excited as well, knowing that soon-ish I will have a bit more space and some room to sew!