Hello?

Hey Dearies,

It's been almost a year since my last post. I am the QUEEN of procrastination, and now I shall make no promises to continue, either.

To bring you up to date: since my last post, I have sold a house, bought a van, relocated, unpacked, and entered (for the 4th time) into the "Family WAY". In the midst of all that, I have found time to have a bit of fun and enjoy being here in our new (old) town. Brett is working (*gasp*) instead of going to school, and that is quite fun! Being in such a small place means he comes home for lunch, which Seth and I enjoy. He loves his work. At the moment, he's taking over for my doctor, which means if Baby Poulin rears his cute little head early, I would call him... and scream "YOU DID THIS TO ME, NOW GET IT OUT!!!" Heh heh heh.

I'm due March 5th, but I'm a C-Section gal, so the babe shall come March 1st, unless I can coax him out by other methods...but that never works for me, alas and alack...

I have a bone of contention about this whole state of pregnancy. Actually two. Two bones of contention.

#1. When you first get pregnant, more often than not you get morning sickness. WHY?????? You need the energy, you need the food, the baby needs the nutrients... WHY MUST WE PUKE? I don't get it.

#2. When you are in your third trimester and are as big as a whale, you can't sleep. WHY???? Again, you need the energy, because the little twerp is coming soon and you won't be able to sleep for months. Shouldn't you be able to sleep like the dead, since you are about to feel like the walking dead? I don't get that, either.

I've also had an interesting condition this time - everything I eat tastes like metal. Weird. I hear it has something to do with the amount of saliva in my mouth. I hope it goes away soon, since I DO love my food. All of you followers know that...

Name ideas, people? We've got one in mind, but I need to cover my butt and have a back-up. Ben was supposed to be Thomas, Abby was supposed to be Camille, and Seth was supposed to be Thomas... I need ideas.

Professional Cleaning May Not Be My Destiny

I respect and admire all of you professional cleaners. It takes a strong, strong person to tackle the dirt again and again and again. I don't think I have the chops! This whole "obsessively clean" thing is driving me to distraction! Our house isn't even on the market yet. Hoo boy.

Brett's having a great time in Drumheller. He even posted Facebook pics of us when he should have been studying. Nice.

I've made a bet with my brother in law, Richard, and my husband to see who can lose the highest percentage of body fat before July 24th. I am SO MOTIVATED. Every day I see Richard's face and I envision him trying to take the prize away from me... and I am finding I can forego the chocolate. It's amazing. The prize is $200, by the way, which I have decided will be towards a spa day for myself. I have never done that and I would like to try it.

The photographers were taking pics of my lovely little first home so that we can sell it to some stranger. I think I need to de-emotionalize. I love my house. I'm sure I'll love the next one, too.

March Didn't Go So Well

The whole "Professional Writer" thing may have gone a tad astray. Oooops. Did I even write my name in March? Oh yes, on several nasty cheques to car repair places, book orders, etc.

On to April.

The PROFESSIONAL HOUSE CLEANER.

I am happy to report that I did do some house cleaning today, in fact. My lovely babysitter came upstairs and almost fell back down the stairs when she saw the state of the rooms - CLEAN! No mess! No toys everywhere! Actual carpet on the floor, not just a carpet of clothes! Yes, it is true. My upstairs is actually clean.

My plan is to do an hour or so everyday to keep up the usual stuff, and then spend 15 minutes de-junking. Will this get the job done in time? For the clock is ticking... we put our house on the market later this month. I did most of the big stuff in February and our Realtor seemed to think it was good. We shall see... I have never sold a house before and I'm petrified. I can't imagine keeping my home in show-home order constantly for months. EEEEEEEEEK!

Easter was great. The kids had a blast with their cousins. It was so loud... my ears are still ringing. The amount of food needed to feed those twerps was amazing. I found a new lemon bar recipe which was received with thunderous accolades. I shall direct you all to ourbestbites.com so that you may enjoy them as I have. Every recipe I have tried on that site is fantastic. The gals that write it are hilarious.

Happy Spring!

Lonely Gal

"I'm just a poor [gal],

I need no sympathy..."

Name that quote. Or this one...

"...but I never complain!"

I know you know that one, Megan.

I miss my boy. The whole "single-parenting" thing is not my favourite, but I'll survive. I'm afraid I'm pulling out my teacher training from the back of my brain and being uber-strict for a little bit. I always find that if you start out strict for a little while, then everyone can relax later and have some fun.

Professional Writer.

Well,

I forgot that I was going to be a professional writer this month. I suppose I should go buy "Writing For Dummies" at the bookstore... because there must be a technique to it.

What shall I write about? For starters, I could tell you what my little Ben said at dinner tonight with the Missionaries. He starts talking about all the funny jokes he read in this book that his friend brought over. "Here's one," he says, "how can I make love without a TV?"

SILENCE.

And then, red-faced and shaking with silent laughter, the poor Elders cough food into their napkins while Brett says, "Yes, well, that doesn't make much sense, does it?" And Ben just says,
"Yeah. It doesn't."
Innocence. Gotta love that.

I explained it later, after they left. He decided he wouldn't tell that joke at dinner parties anymore. Good decision, good decision.

Another Report

Hello there, faithful readers!

I am researching fitness-y type stuff in order to be a good fitness guru. Did you know that 2 out of 3 Canadians are over-weight or obese? BRUTAL! 30% of youth aged 12-19 are completely inactive during the day. WOW. Perhaps I'll take my kids to the track and make them run. Maybe not the best idea for making exercise fun.
I'm using the Wii Fit quite a bit lately to help motivate the kids... they need to earn minutes by moving and then they can play the more sedentary games. How much time do your kids play video games? We're trying to cut back over here. It's the first privilege to go when they are being naughty or disrespectful.
So, now that the weekend is done, I'm hoping to get my flat tire fixed (AGAIN) and get back to the gym 3 times this week. The calorie counting thing is annoying... but good. 300 calories every 3 hours. I'll let you know how it's going. Tah tah!

First Official Day Off As A Professional Fitness Guru

Ahem...
I might have eaten half a bag of peanut M&M's today, along with 4 pieces of pizza and 2 glasses of pop. I didn't work out, either. Oh dear. Well, back on the wagon tomorrow, as it is Fast Sunday and I'm pretty much guaranteed not to go over my caloric intake....although one should never say NEVER...

A Pain in The ...

I am suffering from "OW! I can't move!" syndrome. This Fitness Buff stuff is quite the profession. I did a class at the gym today. Wow. I feel like someone liquified my glutes and quads. Who ARE these teachers of terror - these instructors of infliction - these harbingers of hell-fire... seriously, those instructors can beat the crap out of you, all the while smiling and telling jokes.

Funny story from Seth yesterday. We were in Superstore, shopping merrily along, when Abby announces she has to go to the bathroom. Now, if you've ever been in a public bathroom, you know it's a nasty necessity, but THIS one... words cannot express the stench that emanated from this room. Seth, Abby and I piled in there, holding our breath, and the dastardly deed was done. Phew! We go back to our cart and happily make our way to the opposite side of the store. Seth cries out, "Mommy! I have to go pee-pees!" I cannot believe it. No "stinking" way do I want to go back in there. I ask him,
"Are you kidding me??" (exasperation implied)
Seth replies in a very serious tone, "No Mommy. I'm not joking." I had to laugh at that.
We survived, but just barely. My sense of smell may not ever be the same. But then again, I am stinky. "If you don't know that by now, you will never never never know it, ooooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-oooh!"

Self-Sabotage

I did so well yesterday. Now I have cleaned up my kitchen, and I decided to mess it up with the most divine cookies:

1 1/4 c. butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
3/4 c. cocoa
1 tsp. bk.soda
1/2 tsp. salt
chocolate chunks, chocolate chips, etc.

Bake at 350 for 8-9 mins.

Calories: A TON.

Report

My plan to be a gym buff/fitness guru has officially started. I went to the gym this morning, armed with all of the necessary items for the event: water bottle, towel, shoes, iPod. When I got there, I realized I left one MAJOR thing at home ... energy. Oh dear. I am afraid I was not the picture of stellar form this morning, as I collapsed on the mat after only 6 seconds of holding a plank position, and I could not get my legs to do proper squats at all. My arms are still shaking from trying to lift only ***8*** get that - EIGHT - pound weights over my head. Hoo boy.
My specific goal for being a gym buff is to get into the habit of regular exercise. 3 days a week for weights, 5 days a week for cardio. This is the plan. Hopefully, weight loss will occur, but I'm trying not to focus on it. I focus too much on that all the time. It backfires on me... "Oh, poor me! I went to the gym but I didn't lose any weight so I'll eat that huge chocolate cake so I can feel better!"
Thanks for commenting, girls! It makes me SO much more accountable when I know someone is actually going to be checking to see if I'm doing my goals. Tami - I have a baby gift for you! I MUST GET IT TO YOU!!

Professional Plan

I just have to say that I LOVE the idea of being a professional Stay At Home Mom (SAHM) and I am absolutely inspired by my friend Sondi. She asks on her blog if I've done my plan for this year and NO! I haven't. The main goal is to focus on one area each month, so as to combat boredom/ depression. So here we go:

January: Too bad, so sad. Professional Procrastinator of Professional Plan

February: Gym Buff/ Fitness Guru

March: Writer

April: House Cleaner

May: Gardener/ Lawn Care

June: Packer

July: Mover

August: Organizer/Beach Bum

September: School Teacher (I am attempting Home Schooling)

October: Travel Agent

November: Personal Shopper

December: Snowman Maker / Dinner Party Queen

This is my personal plan. It is subject to extreme changes due to the weather of my moods. Thanks for the inspiration, Sondi!

I Love Friday.

Friday. Or Fried-day. The day when my brain is completely fried and my body is tired and I can't see straight and I crave all things chocolate. The day that I know will be followed by a SATURDAY sleep-in.
Today we walked to the movie store in our effort to save the environment. All the way there, the kids were congratulating themselves on just how "green" they were, how much pollution they didn't put into the air, etc. All I was thinking was that it would be so much faster just to drive there. Fried-day.
The kids got up this morning and sauntered downstairs, quite late, only to see that their crazy mother was in a rather sour mood due to the time. After experiencing mother's rants about how they were going to be late for school, Abby declared, "Wow. She's gonna need A LOT of hugs today." So true. Fried-day.
My lovely friend came over to chat with me and have lunch this afternoon. I love my lovely friend. She puts up with the fried-ness and makes me laugh. We drink our herbal tea and discuss pretty much anything/everything. If we ruled the world... LOOK OUT. Fantastic Fried-day.
Now I shall go and make dinner. Perhaps in honour of this day I shall FRY something.

New Year, NEW ... post.

Oh how I love this little man. A classic pose.

If I get one post done this year I am going to be OH so happy!!! I'm not going to promise any kind of regular posting or anything, since that is not realistic... but I shall try to write more because I truly enjoy this silly blog. It's fun for me.
Christmas Report:
Most of the baking got done and got eaten immediately. I should have taken pictures but the truth is that I forgot to get the camera. My big plan this year was to bake loaves of bread and send them to people instead of sending sugary baking... I think I only did that to 2 lucky people and the rest of the people got zippo. Oooops. Not a great year for gift-giving or card-sending... sorry people. No offense intended!
We had a lovely visit with most of the family at Christmas this year. We partied hard... about 11 adults and 12 kids at each supper meal. That is a LOT of cooking and cleaning... but it was fun because there were lots of people around to help. Brett got 2 days of skiing/snowboarding in, along with a couple of 15 km runs, so he was happy. I was able to go on ONE walk with my Mom to the graveyard. That was the highlight of my trip, I think. Oh, and AVATAR!! So great. What a fun time at the movies! I highly recommend it.
Here's a few pics of the festivities...if I can find them...

This is proof of how busy Grandma and Grandpa's house was. CRAZY. But fun.

Christmas Baking

That most magical of seasons is upon us... the season of BAKING till we drop!
I made a list of things to bake (in no particular order):
Lemon Loaf
French Bread
Carla's Shortbread
Mom's Shortbread
Paula's Pecan Puffs
Welsh Cakes
Ooeey Gooey Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies
Chocolates
A huge Gingerbread Mansion with lights and stained glass windows
Oh, the list goes on, believe me!

The problem is that I also have quite a few crafts on the go as well... and then I have this lazy streak that often shows its ugly face when I have to make a choice on what to do. Hmmmm, I think I'll go take a nap right now.

The Grey Cup - Poulin Style...

"He's at the 30... the 20... he's passing the garden rake...it's a TOUCHDOWN!!!"

Seth's new craze is playing football - any time. He will drag us out to "go to the touchdown zone" and will interject comments such as:
"Mommy, we are both blue. We are both on the blue team. Here's your blue shirt. I am number 1453. You are just blue. I will score. I am running. I am blue..." He says these things over and over. Then when he scores he does his little dance of joy and shouts "YES!! YES!! IT'S THE TOUCHDOWN ZONE!!!"
...and...
"You are NOT my best friend." This happens when I happen to score a touchdown. I discovered that all of my kids hate to lose at any game. I think this is probably due to me letting them win all the time. I tell them I'll beat them racing up the stairs, and I always lose... I play "Let's get dressed faster than Mommy" in the morning... but now they all HATE to lose. Any of you parents out there figure out how to fix this particular character flaw? I was thinking I might just start beating them at stuff and then tell them to "suck it up, buttercup"... but is that really the best way? How else do they learn this kind of stuff?
Anyone?
Anyone?
Bueller?
Bueller?

What's up with my blog??

I don't know what I did, but I think I might need to call in the expert... my hubby!
More soon...

I'm a pecan-burn victim.

Who knew that those yummy nuts could be the cause of such pain? Such agony? Such humiliating stories for all my friends to see and laugh at me about?
Here's the Cooking Crimestoppers Official Report:
"It was a dark and stormy night in the kitchen at Jen's house. She was trying out a new recipe... one which was almost finished baking, when an idea popped into her fevered brain. 'Why don't I just stick my finger on the baking treat, just to see if the middle of it is still gelatinous or not?' And so, the fateful decision was made, and Jen pushed her finger too far into the middle of the pecan-encrusted pumpkin cake...ALAS! AND ALACK! A pecan seized her finger and in a fit of hands-waving-about-all-over-the-place, it was dislodged and settled on a new location... the top of her upper lip. There it sizzled until Jen finally got it off and rushed to put ice on the scene of the crime. Now she looks as if an amazingly huge cold sore volcano erupted over her upper lip. The Polysporin ointment only increases the beauty of this third eye."
The pernicious pecan has vanished. It has not been seen since. There is a warrant out for its arrest. If you see this pecan please call 555-5555 and report your tip. Oh, the treat was lovely, by the way... even with its nefarious nuts.

Ode To My Bosch.

How do I love thee, Bosch?
Let me count the ways...
I love thee when thou dost mix my bread dough up for me,
Leaving my hands free to stop my munchkins from killing each other...
I love thee because thou canst even handle mixing my fondant for candy-making,
Only when I use thy dough hook.
I love thee when I use thee to whip cream,
For thou art ever so quick and timely,
I use thee for the mashed potatoes, when I feel lazy,
Thou dost whip them into oblivion.
I love using thee for cookies, cakes, muffins, pie crust, breads, and anything else I need to mix. There is no way I could love thee better, except if I didn't have to clean those little groovy things inside the bowl, that really bugs.


That was my ode to my favorite appliance of all. The BOSCH. I have enjoyed a very successful relationship with "Bo" the Bosch for 12 years now. He was a wedding present from Handsome Man's parents. 12 years, and we've never had a fight, that Bosch and I. He was a little angry when I used him for the fondant, it's true: but, he never gave up and is still kicking. I've replaced his bowl and gotten him some new paddles. His motor is still fab. Love you, Bo.
I name all of my appliances. Bet you didn't know that about me!

Here's a recipe that I enjoy using "Bo" for.

Grandma's Buns

1 c. scalded milk
1 c. warm water
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. oil (save some for the edge of the bowl)
3 beaten eggs
5 c. flour
2 TB. instant yeast

Mix the first 6 ingredients together in the BOSCH. Make sure your liquid isn't too hot (it will kill your yeast in the next step).




Combine yeast and flour in a separate bowl. Add to wet ingredients. Then let your Bosch do all the work! Let it knead for about 7 minutes until dough is elastic.

Pour saved oil in a big bowl and add the dough. Or, just spray the bowl with cooking spray like I did here.



This is how I test to see if the dough is the right consistency. It should still be a little sticky, but not "coagulated Elmer's glue" consistency.





Place wax paper on top of the dough and place in a warm oven (I usually turn the oven on to 180 degrees for a few minutes at the beginning of my bun-making adventures, then I turn it off. Then, it's lovely and warm for my dough when it's time to put it in.) Let the dough rise for an hour until it has doubled.



Punch dough down, roll into buns, and don't bug me about the state of my cookie sheets. It's almost December, and I am due for some new ones...


.


Back to the buns - let them sit for 15 minutes. Fire up your oven to 350 degrees. Bake those babies for 12-15 minutes.

Then they look like this.





Eat a few while they are hot. Stinking good.

Where The Wild Things Are... READING?

You mothers know that eerie feeling you get when the house is TOO quiet? From previous experience you dread what you are going to find - flour spread all over the kids and the kitchen, toothpaste and toilet paper everywhere, all your kitchen chairs and walls drawn on by permanent marker... you know what I mean. My monsters must be making mischief somewhere so I started to search for them. I turned the corner to find this scene... and then got my camera. Awww. My hairy monsters.



I'm glad I caught my baby critter before he actually got the finger inside the nose. Why must they do that?
We are in desperate need of haircuts at the moment. Why is it that my boys got the thick, fast-growing locks and my little girl has fine, curly, "grow at the speed of a snail's crawl" hair? I'm not truly complaining, really, but with both Handsome Man and my hair being what it is, I'm shocked that they all didn't get Chia Pet Hair like us. My hair was identified as green at one time, so I'm a true Ch-ch-ch-chia!
Here's my favorite family photo from the infamous family photo shoot of 09. Seriously, I think this one was the best of all of them. Sleep deprivation and family photo shoots are the most effective form of torture, I believe.

The Grouse Grind

Part of our Vancouver Vacation included conquering Grouse Mountain.
It was a beautiful day... sun shining, birds chirping, Jen grumbling and complaining all the way up the steep stairs, watching wistfully as lucky people flew over our heads in a gondola. It really was a beautiful setting. I found it difficult to appreciate the view, seeing as how I needed to keep my eyes on the rocks/stairs/tree roots all over the path. Every once in a while it dawned on me just how fantastic this place was. Seriously, GORGEOUS! This is me with a pained look at the half-way mark... do you feel the angst? There were very, very old men who passed me quickly on the trail. I was impressed with the number of people who do this trail in less than 30 minutes. I did it in 90. But... I did it! I'm glad I did. It was so worth it! There's a chalet at the top where we had lunch. We could see all of Vancouver and out to Vancouver Island. It was breathtaking.

This is me at the top. Relieved. Covered in sweat. Apparently trying to swallow bugs for extra protein? I know you want my autograph now.