One day we'll have it all.....

Now don't get me wrong...I totally appreciate everything that we have here in our modest abode.  And I totally agree that the things in life that are important aren't really "things", but the people we love and experiences we have that make us who we are today.....

Now with that being said I really don't think it would hurt to have say...just a little... I dunno...a few things like this....

A little indoor swimming pool - complete with pool boy of course

And one would need to have someone to take care of the home

(You better believe that was a difficult family friendly "maid" google image search)

Definitely need a little help with the day to day things

I think I'll name him Mr. Dibbles

Wouldn't my life be so much easier with one of these.....

I actually feel the anxiety of visiting anyone along the 401 series highways slowly retreating...

And everyone knows the most beneficial addition to our home would be our own personal chef

I know dare to dream....dare to dream...

We are a very fortunate family - in a lot of ways

Here is one example of my reality that is better than all above

 Amish child labour...yes... that really is a push mower

Pride in workmanship

And his own way in getting the job done right

Yes,  that is the snow shovel....

Tango died and The Boy got stoned........

Whew, what a day....

Yes, our last fishy friend has gone to the other side and No, the boy did not go on a bender to numb the grief....(more on his altered state later)

So the Boy comes into Mumma's room early this morning with the bad news.....poor Boy, big tears and everything.  We once again performed the toilet funeral and tried to remember the good times....oh the good times....the way all 3 would just sit there looking at you, the way Tango and Steve would swim fast and swim slow, the way Rocky would hide for hours on end in his hidey rock.....yes...the good times will remain.

Now for the Boy's exciting afternoon....

Today was the Boy's first foray into dental procedures.  Up until this point every dental visit consisted of the routine exam and cleaning - never a cavity, never a problem (Thank God) but today was a different story.

The Boy had to have 2 teeth shaved....yes I typed shaved....sounds weird and yes it was.
Apparently in order for his grown up teeth to come in right there needed to be some room.  Back in the day the dentist would just pull the teeth but as our awesome dentist explained "pulling the teeth are like killing a fly with a sledgehammer, really overkill, and this way is less traumatic and less expensive"  Did I mention he is the bestest!!! (And looking like Sting doesn't hurt either).

So in the chair he goes, dons the sunglasses, and the Star Wars movie is popped into the TV in the ceiling.
On goes the mask of "happy gas" and then the party begins......

Dr. Payne (yes honestly his name is Payne) explains to the Boy that he is going to start feeling really relaxed and that his toes might start feeling tingly.  The Boy sat there still as could be, not a word, not a peep from him.  Then Dr. Payne looks at me and whispers..."oh, it's working now".  "Are you feeling okay now?" to the Boy and the Boy responds with the longest and craziest giggle I have ever heard.  Seriously he sounded like a lunatic, but a really, really, really, funny lunatic.  Throughout the whole procedure periodically he lets out this drug induced giggle/laugh that would in turn make Dr. Payne chuckle and me quickly worry that this is the beginning of a hardcore laughing gas addiction......(and how can I get a shot of that.....)

Afterwards the Boy shared that he liked that gas cause it made everyone into cartoon characters and he could hear really silly music everytime the dentist talked......he also was convinced the whole way home that the gas made is arms smaller..."No seriously Mumma, I could never feel the bones in my arms and now I can....stop laughing at me Mumma, its real!"  Okay my sweet gas junkie....lipo from gas.  Oh and he also was convinced that his lip had to be swollen at least 10X' it's normal size (there was no swelling) cause "I know my original self and this is not my original self".  No truer words have been spoken.....

Anyhow now the gas and the freezing has worn off.  He tells me that he has a little pain but nothing a Children's Motrin can't help - but not till bedtime because god knows he will now have a legit reason not to be able to fall asleep tonight.

Sit back and relax...this post is gonna be a long one...

You have  been forewarned,  the following post will contain a lot of stuff....everything from Jesus to toilets, love and mystery....and death...intrigued yes???

Let us begin with our glorious Easter Sunday, the celebration of Jesus' birthday, (no that's not right, that's when Santa brings presents) I mean death, ummm..no that 's not right...hang on - gonna call Ellen, she goes to Church....

Okay back to Easter - the celebration of Jesus' RESURRECTION...yes the resurrection when the Easter bunny brings chocolate and stuff....Anyhow this year the bunny brought the boy a new aquarium, 5 gallon tank to be exact - see below....

So the boy lived and breathed getting the tank ready for his new pets - bought the heater, the gravel, the fancy plant, and hidey rock.  We waited the required amount of time to let the water "settle" in the tank and then off we went back to Pet Smart to pick out our new lucky aquatic friends.

The boy decided on 3 new friends - 2 very small little Blue Guppies  (Steve and Tango) and one very large Rock Shrimp (Rocky).

Below are pictures of their first day in their new home

Letting them get acclimatized to their new environment
Then the release

Oh happiness!! They loved their new home and the boy loved them so!!!

Rocky sits on his rock flicking his little "arms?" which looked like he was playing some imaginary piano - sooo cute!!

Steve and Tango love playing tag chasing each other in the tank

Oh joy and happiness!!  Oh yes... yes...yesssss!

Then Tuesday everything changed (I'm sure you all felt a shift in the universe)....Steve was no longer swimming around chasing Tango, our beautiful new friend, Steve, was lying on the bottom of tank, yes, he was gone.....

So the traditional burial at sea was peformed for our dear fishy friend through the magic of the toilet.

This was not the first toilet funeral the boy has experienced - some of you may remember Flappy and his early demise in 2007

(Oh yes, I really did take pictures of this...and check out how clean the toilet is!!)

The boy was understandably upset but put on a brave face for Tango and Rocky's sake. 
Imagine the difficulty the boy had falling asleep knowing his trio of aquatic brothers were now down a man...


The next day the boy soldiered on, putting his grief aside, and off to school he went. 
Then...you guessed it....The HORROR....the HORROR!!!!! Rocky now too was no longer literally "swimming with the fishes" but "swimming with the fishes" mafia style that is....he had joined his fellow comrade in that giant fish tank in the sky...

Now of course the toilet burial was not appropriate due to Rocky's size - not that he was enormous but anyone who has had the pleasure of using our plumbing here know that anything larger than a pebble will likely cause an overflow....

So Rocky was lovingly placed in a beautiful "Fredya" jewellery box (seriously it was a nice box, Fredya jewellery rocks) and we will be holding the outside burial this weekend.  Now before you wonder if Rocky is starting to smell less than pleasant, rest assured he is in the freezer - ironically right next to the bag of jumbo shrimp the boy loves to eat.....

So then there was one - poor Tango, oh how alone he must feel, the boy was very concerned for his mental health,  tried to reassure him that things would be okay...but wait...the boy thought for sure he was.....smiling?
Hmmmm....could this be a matter of foul play....murder on the high seas???? 

Needless to say the tone of our home has been quite somber since Rocky's passing....the boy has been overly concerned for the well-being of our remaining friend - so much that a prompt washing out of the tank and new water was completed last night in the hopes that Tango will be spared an early death and that the mumma will stop calling his aquarium the "TANK OF DEATH". 

Even the dog could sense something was wrong.....

Honestly I think I know what has caused the deaths......our 14 day guarantee ended on Monday...mystery solved.

Yip Yip Yipeeee....here's a few little somethings to brighten the mumma's day.....

I finally received an order from Chapters and nothing could please me more on a stupid Monday....

Two things that make the mumma happy are:
1) Books and
2) Insane asylums
Yes you read that right, insane asylums - they are just so incredibly intriguing, calming (in a weird way) and yes, creepy.
Believe it or not there are people out there that are actively involved in the research, exploration, and history of the long ago "homes for the incurable".  Thank God these people exist, see I'm not just the crazy obsessed one.
I find the history of these buildings and the stories of those who spend their lives residing in such institutions both disturbing and fascinating (just like me....as Lynne would say...)

So here is what I'll have my nose stuck in for the next little while:

Some people are interested in cars, sports, and civil war reenactments.  Meh, give me a tour of a Kirkbride and I would be floating on cloud nine for months....

So just in case you are feeling the need to buy me something that would make me happy then you could never go wrong with the following from my wish list....

And then there is this little jewel - actually watched a documentary on PBS last week about dear ole' Doctor Freeman and his "wild and crazy lobotomies" (said in my bestest Steve Martin voice)

....good times...good times......good times, indeed.....

So there you have it.....a little piece of happiness from me to you...

Oh yeah, almost forgot to inform those who are interested.....I quit my job on Thursday...

Night night all and happy reading!!!

Psst...it actually happened - WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes peoples....finally in the long lived 3 year hockey career of the boy we have secured a trophy!!! - yes baby we have come a long way...

It has been a great season beginning with the boy scoring his first goal EVER during the first game of the season!!
Unfortunately he could only chase the dream of another goal for the next 6 months - tried like a boy on fire each game making a bizillion close shots on the net...

Now for the highlights...and an example of one of the elusive goals...(the boy is number 3 but basically had the back of his shirt is tucked into his pants for the whole game, cutting edge hockey fashion of course)

If you watched very closely you would have noticed the slight smile he gave to the camera when skating by...

And a few pictures to capture the determination of our own little Gretzky...

Now notice the boy's tribute to himself at the end of the game...avoiding the pile on of victory, instead giving the crowd what we all wanted - a personal show of celebration (seriously...what's wrong with that kid?)

Overall there was no prouder Mumma and boy there today at the rink...

Happy Birthday Aunt Teen Teen!!

Happy Happy Happy (belated) Birthday to our favourite Aunt Teen Teen!! Yes I know we are a day late in posting this, and yes we suck...but we did call and wish the birthday girl a happy day yesterday. We would have did this little tribute to our Teen Teen yesterday but it was awful sunny and nice outside, and we had to go to hockey practice, and mumma needed a nap in the afternoon, and then we visited with friends til fairly late in the evening...(any of these reasons making up for the fact we suck??). Anyhow Aunt Teen Teen this is for you....


Even the dog accompanied the boy by playing the squeaky chew toy

Love you lots Aunt Teen Teen

My favourite Baby Sister

Irish Chicken and Dumplings

So we will begin today's cooking segment with Irish Chicken and Dumplings as it is St. Patrick's Day. I know we should probably be making Corned Beef and Cabbage or Irish Stew but both those meals are barfy....

So I looked for an alternative Irish dish and found the following recipe. I'm not quite sure how authentic of an Irish meal it is but it's the closest thing we will eat around here...it does have potatoes in it so that should count, right?

Anyhow here is the play by play...

First you get all the ingredients together (and tell the boy he has to help cook or we are going to starve)


Next you prepare and chop up all the vegetables required - carrots, potatoes, onions, and celery...




Yes the boy did most of the peeling and chopping and all fingers are intact!!

Now on to adding the vegetables, seasonings, soup, and water to the pot...and this is where things went terribly wrong....

Now I could blame the boy for not reading the recipes thoroughly first...but actually it was the mumma's fault...I was getting tired and he was losing interest (after what seemed like 7 hours of veg prep according to the boy) so I figured everything just gets thrown in the pot but...no, the potatoes and carrots were suppose to be added after everything else simmered for 1 1/2 hours...oh well - too late now..



So we put the pot on the stove with the chicken on top and hope that everything turns out...

After it cooks for 1 1/2 hours on low heat then you take out the cooked chicken and cut it up into bite sized pieces, return to the pot and add the peas...



After you let that cook for 5 minutes you then add your biscuit dough to the bubbling mixture....



You let that cook covered for 10 minutes then 5 minutes uncovered and then tada! Irish Chicken with Dumplings.....




Now I'm sure you're wondering how it tastes...well...





The score cards for Irish Chicken with Dumplings were...
9 out of 10 from the boy - he especially liked the dumplings
5 out of 10 from the dadda - he especially hated the dumplings
4 out of 10 from the mumma - she especially wanted to have articoke salad for dinner.

If you truly would like to try this out for yourself send us an email and we'll get it to you...