"Deck the Halls with Halle Berry"...Ben

Sorry for my terribly bad efforts at updating this. Life got REALLY hectic. The tradeshow went really well. Got some great feedback and also did another little Christmas party where everyone had an opportunity to shop. My surgery was postponed again...this time it was kind of my fault. It went ahead on the 5th so I'm still in pain :( Since it was postponed my family decided we'd disappear down to the states for another visit to Dutch Wonderland (and no, there are no clog rides...I hear hear the disappointment already). For anyone with little rabid monsters who are about 3+ in age then it is well worth a visit. More so in the summer admittedly...it's a little cold and I was shivering under my yoga pants and ski coat. The great thing about this place is that it is primarily rides that all kids can go on....unlike Canada's Wonderland. Ben had a great time AND the best bit...it's opposite outlet malls. See what I did there...I found an activity for everyone in the family. You can make the kids behave while shopping by saying if they're good then you'll take them. The chance to escape from everything was great.

This year, surgery or not, I was determined that I was having Christmas dinner at my house...since this would be the first year. Yes, while some might call this idea stupid I prefer to think of it as brave determination. Not only was I going to attempt to cook Christmas dinner but I was going to do the appetitizer and dessert. Go me! I should probably point out that my dad had very nicely volunteered to do the turkey for me. I'll admit it...the prospect of dealing with a bird like that kind of scares me. They include yukkie stuff like giblets...why would anyone want that?!!? I spent the week leading up to Christmas baking like a crazy woman. I was trying to find unique Christmas gifts for my parents this year and since they moved here 5 years ago they have complained about the fact that mince pies and shortbread here just don;t taste as good as at home. So I looked up some ...U.K recipes and got to work.

I made some mince meat...with some extra brandy since I made it sans suet...I was over compensating like how small men do with big cars....and it was another ick point for me. The large quantity I made proved very useful. I churned out some all butter shortbread, which me being me couldn't just be normal, so each piece was shaped like a star...a very sugary star (note to self keep away from Ben). I also made some Toblerone fudge...all I can say is...my parents were lucky it made it to them and I have now rejoined the gym. I am thanful I don't like cheesecake otherwise I'd have scoffed the white chocolate and mint baileys one I made as well! The pitfall of baking is wanting to eat it all...or 'testing' as I like to call it. I think perhaps my most sucessful venture of the baking explosion/bombsite was teh mince pies. I decide to try 'deep fill' ...all I can say is they looked like mini pies and felt like rocks. Apparently they were tasty but they were so heavy. I thought my parents might actually think I'd put coal in a tin and given it to them.

I also attempted to recreate my Auntie's Christmas cake. Now, I have to explain that I have no idea how on earth she does this or what laws of gravity she manages to go against to create shuch an amazing feat of engineering. The icing on this cake is literally and an inch and a half to two inches thick and rock solid. When my mum asled what she used my Auntie told her royal icing and water that was all (I swear there is cement or mortar or something else in there). I should also point out that my Aunt makes the most amazing shortbread and caramel squares (ohhh caramelt squares...I should've made those...dammit!!). She like the supreme baker so by trying to imitate her baking....well I was pretty much doomed to failure. I would love at this point to be able to tell you that I made the most amazing cake covered in white icing which sat in peaks and defies all laws of gravity...but instead I made a cake where the icing ran off not just the cake but the plate as well...kind of like paint. It looked like some icing beast had vomited sugar over it. I swear there is some secret ingredient she is witholding from me...starch?!?! I have no idea...I'm starting to think there's a ratio of 1 bag of royal icing to 1 teaspoon of water. You might think I'm over reacting to this loss of icing sugar greatness...but honestly...this stuff is amazing. It's the kind of icing you could break your teeth on...wait...I think I might be drooling right now...no...no...we're ok.

So I'm adding this to my bucket list...learn to make Auntie Stella's icing....no easy feat at all clearly.

Trick or Treat

It’s been a pretty busy weekend. Ben had a birthday party at Chuck E Cheeses on Saturday for the afternoon so I had to run out that morning and find a present, card and wrapping paper which wasn’t Christmas since that’s all I have. However before that I had to go sign up with the gym because I am determined to lose that 27lbs I gained and also to just get fit....ask me in a month if I’m still so determined...

Now as most people who know me can tell you, me and kids are kind of hit and miss. I LOVE my own and have a ton of fun with him but generally I’m really not a kid kind of person. I do appear to be like a child magnet at times...it’s nearly like they sense it. So I have one child...I’m used to one child. So you can imagine how scary walking into a room full of a hundred sugar filled hyper kids is. Wow...I did not realise it was possible to scream/shout/yell that loud. There appeared to be around 6 birthday parties going on alongside the normal customers. Parents walking around looking bored out of their tree or telling their child to be patient and wait...which didn’t work.
Now I did consider Chuck E Cheese’s for Ben’s birthday party...but to be honest the cost is just so enormous. Since his dad refused to contribute in any way to the birthday party it was really just too much on my own. Well after having seen this birthday party I’m glad I didn’t. The kids had an awesome time and I’m not knocking that at all. However, the parents had clearly paid for a premium package but seemed to get treated the same way as the other groups who hadn’t. Due to their being 6 birthdays they combined the birthday songs and meeting Chuck E Cheese (which you know, seeing a fat mouse in a baseball cap is the centre of this whole thing) so each party literally got only a few minutes of mouse time. It just seemed like such a rip off for what you got. The kids did have a great time which is the point...and I had a totally knackered little boy by the end of the day. However, it reinforced that I’m glad I did Ben’s Pirate themed birthday at home...it was worth repainting a wall and having pringles smooshed into my carpet because he actually had more fun.

As everyone knows yesterday was Halloween...now I have to admit I’m not pleased it was on a Sunday and I love that our church does superhero Sunday on Halloween for the kids to still dress up in a non scary way. I’m teaching Ben this is merely a fun meaningless holiday because to me that’s what it is. The scariness and gore is meant to be fun and I want him to see it as that and nothing more. We did our trick or treating as a fireman and a black cat and he collected a lot of candy from just two streets...that’s all we do because I think that is plenty for a 5 year old. I’m teaching him it’s a fun holiday and fun to decorate for BUT the big holiday in our home is Christmas. I’m like the Christmas child...I love it. Everything about Christmas is so much fun and such a great reminder of how great that time of year is. While Ben is all chat about Santa, I do make sure he’s aware of the real reason for the season. This year because he’s older I am going to push it a lot more with him being doing some arts and crafts which relate to the Christmas story...I’ll post up anything I find useful!

For now, for anyone who doesn’t know....Lowes hold Build and Grow Clinics. These are completely free and your child learns to use a hammer. They receive and apron and goggles which they get to keep and a kit to build. Once it’s built they receive a badge to be sewn onto their apron and a certificate to say they completed it. Ben loves it! Last time he made a bat so when he got home he coloured it in. Make sure you call a week in advance to reserve your place at a 10am or 11am slot. You can find more information here -

https://www.lowesbuildandgrow.com/Home.aspx

Note online sign up is for U.S. only.

Remember to keep an eye on my other blog for updates from Lucky 7 Designs!

http://lucky7designs.blogspot.com/

http://www.lucky7designs.ca/