We are currently...

I think I've done this feature at least once before. It's something a fellow blogger, Harvesting Kale, uses as a sort of template to post about what's going on with her family.

This weeks themes: 

looking, making, wondering, playing, wearing

Oliver and I are currently looking like castaways/ feral children raised by jungle animals, as neither of us have had hair cuts in a significantly long time. Calvin, on the other hand, is looking dapper as usual.

Oliver is currently making up his own pronunciations of words. Pumpkin is "gobble" by the way, how fitting. And fish has always been "may-may". You should also hear him try the catch phrase of Disney's Mater: If I'm lyin' I'm cryin'. I am currently making way too many tomato-based dishes considering over has a canker in his mouth - mean mom! Calvin is currently making plans for where we'll eat during our train trip to Chicago later this month. His main question being: who makes amazing deep-dish pizza with amazing gluten-free options?

I am currently wondering if I can plan an international vacation at the end of February if I'm due with a baby at the end of January. I know, we'll need travel insurance in case baby comes late or there are issues with getting our family settled, but if things go as last time and I'm up and at-em, ready for a trip, can I logistically get a Birth Certificate and Passport in time? Oliver is wondering why Grandpa had to take the hook out of the fish's mouth when we were at our cottage. In July. (He seriously just asked me this last night.) Calvin is wondering if I'm a big enough Leafs fan to watch the game without him tonight. (Yes, I am.)

Oliver is currently playing puppies every time he sees his (my!) friend Ashley. He also puts on his tiger costume with the big belly and plays pregnant mommy (walking around the house, rubbing his belly saying "oh baby, oh baby".) Calvin is currently playing his band's 2 new tracks that will be released once they are mastered at the end of the month - they are amazing. He's playing ball hockey too. I'm currently playing... barista? As I mix up my own yummy tea and coffee concoctions at home using fall spices? I don't know, that's a bad answer: maybe I suck at playing. Oh! I was playing the final episodes of The Office again, cause I missed it.

I am currently wearing the pants with the biggest belly area that I can find in my closet (and I'm only 6 months along). I have a pair of black H&M maternity pants that just aren't giving me enough room anymore, and a pair of black XSmall work pants from Target that my mom hemmed and made "skinnier in the leg" for me, that do have lots of belly room. So they're my go to now. All my other maternity clothes are summer. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Other than his tiger costumer, Oliver is wearing adorable onesie pj's and very stylish clothes that he gets as hand-me-downs from the ever generous Tiffany, and Penny. (Okay, okay, we buy him new things sometimes.) He's also wearing rain boots even when he doesn't need to, and attempting to try on his old baby slippers as I get them ready for baby #2's arrival. Calvin is wearing his usual.

Is it possible to be more handsome? Photo credit: Stephanie Collins

Dinner for 3 ... or, Three Different Dinners

I am lucky to have a husband and son who are not picky -- so this post won't be full of complaints.

Most of the time, I make one dinner and we all eat it. Sometimes I'll have a with-dinner coffee, while Ollie always has water, and Cal might have some strange soda that he's found (seriously -- he finds really weird soda), but really it's rare that we eat different food for dinner.

However, tonight was the "we all eat the same meal" apocalypse. I knew we would eat basa fish tacos, however:

- I only had 2 tortilla wraps left (Calvin needs 2 to himself, minimum)
- The bulk of the tacos was going to be lettuce which Oliver has a rough time chewing well
- I wanted hot peppers! Lots - sorry Oliver!
- There was like 1/2 cup corn-rice mix leftover and it would look pretty pathetic split 3 ways

So I did this... (And once I get around to uploading photos from my camera I can include a shot I took)

CALVIN
2 large fish tacos: cooked fillet + cheese + salsa + lettuce + tomato + hot peppers + sauteed pepper & onion

AMY
1 fillet with cheese and salsa + a side of sauteed pepper & onion & hot peppers (this is better anyway because I can have extra veggies, I mean, who wants to only eat what peppers you can fit into a tortilla)

OLIVER
Rice and corn mix + some fish + some cheese + some tomato (his favourite food)

Everyone wins!

See I told you I wouldn't complain. ... But I do wish we had avocado.

To Do Before 2013

I have several things that I'd like to do before the New Year is upon us. None of them are Pinteresting in nature.Pinteresting: related in anyway to weight loss, crafting or a living room makeover.

Just for the heck of it, why don't I put it in count down form?

10. Read Sprouted Kitchen (Forte) and True Food (Weil). Beautiful cookbooks by beautiful people.

9. Receive a huge bag of nice second hand clothes from a close friend. Please and thank you.

8. Go to the cottage. Be included in a game of Risk.

7. Take Oliver to the Children's Museum.

6. Force Calvin to host Sausage Fest '12, literally a sausage-making gathering of friends with all of his fancy equipment.

5. Finish writing my novel and put it up on blurb.com - print one for me, the rest will be e-books.

4. Bring back "Christmas Movie Night Sundays".

3. Enjoy the annual Christmas party with friends, which I hope will feature many an egg nog, in all its glory.

2. Go sledding.

1. See THE GREAT Freaking GATSBY. (DJango Unchained looks pretty good too.)

It's Burger Season... Veggie Burger Season?

Just around the time this unseasonably nice weather hit Ontario the "burger" section of the grocery store seemed to be strangely bare. My first thought was that everyone was firing up their BBQs at the same time and the purchaser didn't plan for that much demand, but no - Ontario was the victim of yet another beef recall. 

I can't say I'm a firm vegetarian. For me if meat is humanely-raised and -slaughtered and is fed proper foods, I am okay to eat it in moderation. That's why I have an order for a certified organic, grass-fed 1/2 cow coming in next week (hurray!) But for those backyard parties that you're not too sure about or if invites tell you to BYOM (bring your own meat), I'd recommend keeping a box of veggie burgers in the freezer.

Recently I tried Sol Cuisine's original vegetarian burger. The stats are jaw-dropping: gluten/wheat free, vegan, low fat, 12 grams of protein, only 100 calories, lots of fiber/calcium/iron, kosher, halal... the list goes in. In fact look at these ingredients:

Filtered Water, Soy Protein Concentrate, Sunflower Oil, Organic Lemon Juice Concentrate, Onion, Modified Cellulose, Tomato Powder, Sea Salt, Garlic, Spices, Caramel Colour.

Everything is verified to be non-GMO. Very impressive.

For the group of us that dug into the tasting (my semi-vegetarian sister, my strict-paleo/whole-foods sister, my meat-loving former-chef husband, and myself) we found with a little creative condiment-adding, the burger was pretty good. Perhaps not as juicy and "meaty" as real beef, but an honest substitute and easily the type of thing you can add ketchup or mayo to for your liking (or homemade tomato jam! or vegenaise!) I look forward to trying more of Sol Cuisine's products in the future.

As it continues to get hotter, I definitely recommend branching out and giving vegetarian burgers a try. Because - hey - you can't get mad cow disease from vegetables. ... can you?

Life Update: Returning to Work

I don't think I'm the stay-at-home mom type. Not naturally, and for a few reasons:

• At the end of a day at home - despite trips to the park, long hours of learning and discovery, and wonderful memories - I lack a sense of accomplishment. I feel like I don't deserve to spend 8 - 9pm in front of the TV because I haven't "worked" yet. Perhaps a load of laundry or two would help this, ha ha.
• I have a real need to be around adults. I'm not even outgoing or talkative, but I love to be a quieter contributor to social situations. Going to mommy groups didn't quench this for me.
• I have crazy guilt about passing up amazing job opportunities. Like the following:

After much discussion, Calvin and I decided that I would accept an exciting job offer I was given by the YMCA, after months of volunteering with them while on maternity leave. To make this happen, Calvin is going to stay at home with Oliver for the last three months of our parental leave. In August he will return to TD and we'll need a new plan.

My first day was yesterday, and the shift itself was thrilling and wonderful, but leaving the house at 8:30am was as close I've gotten to bawling my eyes out in the past 24 years (watching the show Intervention also comes close). I suddenly felt like I was abandoning the family. I had pictures of Oliver screaming and clawing at the front door. I felt the weight of a thousand stay-at-home moms' judging eyes fall on me. It was hard.

But luckily, I was only gone until 1pm. Calvin did a great job of changing Oliver, bathing him, letting him play outside and with his indoor toys, feeding him and even getting a ton of house chores done. Apparently neither of them cried the whole time. So it's going to be okay! I had a double-electric breast pump and a son who doesn't mind "reverse cycling" (look it up) so we'll be okay.

But that's my update.

Have you been in a similar situation? Tell me your thoughts!

31 Days: Day 18 and 19

Yesterday after I finished my house stuff Calvin phoned to say we were headed to Guelph to help out a friend with a delivery. It actually didn't end up happening but somehow I got to spend a few hours with my mom and dad, which was great. When we got home I made fried rice, carrots from the garden & halibut in the skillet. Then I watched way too much Gene Simmons Family Jewels.

Today I got up early to make the one hour walk (with my mom) to mom & baby yoga at Lululemon. I loved it. By the time we got home we needed lunch so she made an impromptu kale & tomato rice-pasta. Then we folded laundry, convinced ourselves not to do any gardening (it's so rainy!), made coffee & filmed a video about homemade moby wraps (coming soon).

Now I'm seriously debating some hot soup even though dinner is soon, and I think we're yet again watching hockey at 7.

Really looking forward to a cottage trip this weekend!

31 Days: Day 10 and 11

Left to right: Mom, Angela, Dad, Sarah with Oliver, Calvin, me

Monday we had a Thanksgiving meal with my side of the family - 100% gluten free. After that the boys (Dad, Calvin, Oliver) wanted to nap but us girls were excited to go on a fall walk, so we suited up and hit the forest. A much longer walk than expected (mainly because the kids of this generation have not kept the good forest paths clear so we had to trail blaze the whole time) found us on Pond Mills Rd at a community garden. The plots were entirely abandoned (understandably as it's October). Nothing had been watered in weeks, there were knee-high weeds and just scattered junk everywhere. We were 100% no one had been there in a while. So we gleaned it. I managed to harvest 3 different varieties of squash, eggplant, peppers (including hot chilis) and some dried out beans for planting next year. It made me want to look up all of London's community gardens and see which ones need gleaning.

For dinner we used leftover turkey to make curried turkey and apple sandwiches (on Udi's gluten-free bread) and spicy turkey and butternut squash soup. Then we dove head first into a Chopped marathon on Food Network.

Yesterday I got to hang out with Calvin all morning and some of the afternoon because he worked the late shift. Once he left I packed Oliver up for a walk and we didn't get back home until dinner time. I made stuffed squash and garlic noodles and I had a huge helping of apple crisp for dessert. Then Cal's friend came over so I ran a hot bath and let the boys hang out by themselves.

Updates

Oh my garden is being so good to me. Yesterday I went out there for a check up and came back with patty pan squash, cucumbers and one lunar carrot. They all tasted stupidly delicious. The tomatoes are really taking their time but they taste good green so if I get antsy I just eat them anyways. I have a cute idea for bringing my herbs in when it gets cold, but it involves a ton of mason jars and I worry I should save them for canning.

I am reading so many good books. Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin is the best read I've found in a while. My friend Debbie lent it to me and now I don't know if my life will be complete without owning it. I also read the Baby Food Bible, every issue of Canadian Family & Today's Parent that I could find. I read Dr. Bradley's Husband-Coached Childbirth and BirthCentre's Baby's First Year and.. well, to be honest just about every book in the Pregnancy, Birthing, Parenting, Eco-friendly, Recipe Book & Craft sections of both Landon & Stoney Creek library. I've had so much time on my hands with being off work but being too pregnant to do anything useful. Which brings me to my next point.

I spent 2 days in Toronto with Calvin and various members of my family trying to find my little sister, Sarah, an apartment. It was really fun and a good way to get out of the house. We found a great restaurant called Just Thai, so next time you're there check it out. I think it's on Jarvis, somewhere near King if I remember.

My blog turns 1 year old on the 7th. I'd like to write a celebratory post and give away all sorts of prizes and make it miraculous but that's a day away from my Estimated Due Date and I seriously doubt I'll be thinking about blogging. Well, maybe I will :) Would anyone like if I share my birth story on here? I plan to if anyone would enjoy.

Calvin got a great hair cut from my talented friend Bethany last night. He's still asleep but I can admire it none the less. And he finally has a long weekend which is very exciting!

If I don't post much in the coming days I hope you understand but I look forward to writing up a storm once things settle down & I already having canning plans so we can be sure that I will document the heck out of that! Thanks for reading my friends.

GF Cheddar Biscuits

I am home sick from work today and by home I mean at my parents' house. Calvin is writing an important test for work (something to do with banking?) and then off to Toronto (something to do with a concert?). While he's away, and Mom isn't home from work yet, Angela is taking care of me and she's doing so by making "chicken noodle soup." While she works on that, and in between me needing a couch-lie because my stomach is so unsettled, I am whipping up some gluten free cheddar biscuits.

Before you get started, review how to make gluten-free flour mix here:

http://myideaofhappiness.blogspot.com/2010/11/gf-shortbread-recipe.html

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Add 1 T lemon juice to 1 c cold milk to make a fake buttermilk.
3. Whisk together

• 2 c GF gluten free flour mix
• 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp each: baking soda, sugar, salt
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

4. Pour 1/2 c melted butter or margarine into the soured milk, then pour those both into the dry ingredients. Mix all together.
5. Scoop in large clumps (16 or so in total) onto a greased cookie sheet or two.
6. Bake 10 minutes.

Oatmeal Cookie Makeover

I like to find hiding places.

By this I mean, I enjoy sneaking healthy ingredients into otherwise perfectly mainstream things (although I also like finding places to hide too - the cardboard boxes at work are perfect.)

Here's an unrelated photo of a
spontaneous feather gathering party this summer.

When I first got married I went on a naughty smoothie kick. Every morning Calvin would be delighted to receive his yummy strawberry-banana smoothie. What he didn't know was that it also contained liquid vitamin D, omega 3 fish oils, a live probiotic dose and acacia fibre. Not soon after that, my mother-in-law shared her recipe for naughty pasta sauce which involves blending tomatoes with spinach, green peppers, carrots and broccoli. I have flawlessly devised and executed plans to swap 3/4 of the rice in a recipe for quinoa, serve two boys tempeh instead of chicken moments before an ice hockey game, convince my dad that soy is beef (okay, that was just funny), and make flaxmeal a wanted edition to every single thing I bake.

My latest freaking joy is oatmeal cookies. Oh my goodness, you can put anything in there. A quick peruse through my museum of weird stuff in jars (more commonly known as a baking pantry) will turn up 20 - 30 things that would willingly ride in a 1/2 cup measure directly into a bowl of oatmeal cookie dough only moments before being rolled, baked, digested and lastly, metabolized into the now healthy bloodstream of my latest victim.

Try this:

Preheat oven to 350. You know the drill.

Mix up a bit less than a cup of vegan margarine and a bit more than a cup of sucanat (fine, you can use sugar). Add a handful of ground flax and an equal amount of water. Put in a splash of vanilla.
On top of that pour just over a cup of flour (I used wheat because I know my family isn't coming over, but alternatives would probably work in this case), just less than a spoon of baking soda, some spices and 3 heaping cups of oats.

At this point you have oatmeal cookies. Feel free to roll and bake for 12 minutes, or...

Return to the previously mentioned museum of weird stuff in jars. How about you pour in some:

Shredded, unsweetened coconut
Dates
Carob chips
Puffed millet or amaranth
Chia seed
Sunflower seeds
Hemp
Walnuts
Molasses
Orange zest
Clove oil
Coconut flour

Can you see how this is just bordering on as exciting as discovering that you fit perfectly inside the packaging that your boss's new printer came in? Folks, yoga is always handy.