Lemon Cake

Alright, I know this isn't a recipe blog....BUT - I needed somewhere to document this recipe. I find myself looking for a place to document a lot of recipes lately, so I think a new blog will be in the works soon! For now, here's a lemon cake recipe that I came up with. I'd say it's worth saving and making again! Enjoy!

Lemon Cake

• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups AP flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• juice of 1 lemon
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat to 350 degrees.
2. Mix wet ingredients.
3. Mix dry ingredients.
4. Combine, then add lemon juice, zest and buttermilk.
5. Bake cake for 25-35 minutes, ish***

The Lorax

Enjoyed the movie.....and loved this quote:

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

2012, so far....

Wow - it's hard to believe that we're over halfway through the first month of 2012. It feels like we were just celebrating the holidays! Big D's been back at school for 2 weeks now and we've fallen back into our daily routine. I think I've said this before, but I honestly can't say it enough - I LOVE MY LIFE! I am so very lucky to get to stay home and enjoy my boys while they grow. Our daily life might be boring to some, but to me - it's perfect! My hubby works hard to give us this life and I am truly thankful!

Anyway, the New Year is treating us well. And I feel I've been giving back, as I said I would! My resolutions are coming along. I've been blogging more on the other site. (I should add that I also resolve to blog more on HERE). I really have been enjoying my boys as much as I can. I have to remind myself sometimes to put the laptop away and join in a game of lego or snuggle up with my 2 favourite boys and a few books. But I am definitely not letting the little moments slip by....at least not all of them. I recently read an article by a Mom who was sick of being told to enjoy EVERY.SINGLE.MOMENT. Instead, to her motherhood was about getting through each day unscathed and having a few moments each day or week that took her breath away. Parenting is hard and sometimes not pretty. I think we can all agree that EVERY moment isn't enjoyable and there are some days we gladly put behind us. But this year, I definitely see each day as a new start and as a new opportunity to be creative and fun with my boys, creating lots of fun memories. We've been baking, crafting, and even skating on the rink in our backyard. As the boys like to say - FUN! My current obsession is pinterest. I've been finding lots of great craft and decor ideas, as well as countless yummy recipes. I may "waste" some a lot of time on that site, but putting those ideas to use makes it worth it!

I used to think how it's really easy to blink and have a whole day or week go by, with little to show. At least, little to show in a literal sense. But now I realize that each day you spend raising your child(ren) proves you have a LOT to show. Even if your child only learns one new thing a day (although, believe me - if your kiddo(s) are anything like mine, it's many new things each day), what they learn is likely because of you. And for that - be proud! Sit down at the end of a long day (that you may or may not have counted down the hours until the kids bedtime) and think about the difference you are making in at least one person's life. To me, making a difference in my two little D's lives is just as grand as making a difference to the world.

Alright, moving onto more minor details. I am proud to say that this week we had ONE kitchen catcher bag worth of garbage. We definitely had more organic/compost waste than regular trash. And of course, tons of recycling. Everyone has gotten on board and is doing their part to help. It feels good to know we are reducing our footprint!

Also this week, I busted out the Wii Fit. Shamefully, I apparently hadn't been on it for 713 days. Yikes! It hadn't been on since before our move. The good news is, I was down 4.4 lbs. Woo-hoo! I've been on it a few times and hope to keep it up.

Well, speaking of exercise, we are in the midst of a white-out like snowstorm and I need to pick Big D up from school soon. Hope you all are off to a good start this year. Please feel free to leave any comments!!!

Happy New Year!

Wow - I had no idea how long it had been since my last blog, until right now. 4 1/2 months is a VERY long time! Sorry! I don't have an excuse.....I guess I just don't think to write on here very often. My lack of posts certainly isn't for lack of cute remarks from my boys. Nor is it from lack of nothing to blog about. Life has been very busy for the past few months. Dylan started school and hockey in September. I never realized just how busy that would make our life. Once Darwin starts in a few years, I'm sure we'll be following a real tight schedule. It will be great if the boys can play on the same team. Hopefully we can make that work!

So in addition to school activities and hockey, the usual busy-ness also continues in our house. We've been doing more home renos (put in a backdoor, re-doing the whole entryway, etc), brewing beer and wine, lots of gardening and yardwork (including the installation of a 30' x 50' hockey rink this past week!), baking, and of course, watching the 2 little D's grow up at an alarmingly fast pace. It's wonderful to watch them grow into such individuals, but I do try to grab onto the few "baby" moments that are left. They'll always be my baby boys, even though they are proud to be "big boys".

With it being the start of a new year, I have been feeling the need to write my resolutions and thoughts somewhere. This blog has always been good for that, so here I am again! I've seen a lot of comments from people in the last few days talking about 2012 being the best year yet and how many are happy to see the end of 2011. I can't say that 2011 was a bad year for us. It wasn't as eventful as other years, but still full of many firsts. I think every year with children will be full of firsts. While I look forward to another year ahead of us, I'm not relieved to put 2011 behind us. I hope for many great things in the following year, but I'll also count my blessing from the last year, and from the many before that.

Anyway, my first resolution for 2012 is to let go of big expectations. I will take this year in stride, and be happy and grateful for whatever comes our way. I am so blessed, in so many ways, that I feel it almost greedy to wish for much more. I have a wonderful family, including two of the sweetest boys in the world. We live in a great family home, with our two quirky goldens (whom turn 8 and 9 this year - WOW!). We are lucky to have a lot of "things" in our house, and I am especially lucky to have a dream kitchen, filled with all the gadgets a chef and baker could want! The boys have a playroom that many kids can only dream about (mostly in part to our loving family, who generously spoiled them over the past few months - birthdays and Christmas included!). There are a few rooms in our house that could use a makeover, but all-in-all, our material possesions are grande and there is little more we need. And our non-material things are beyond what I ever could have dreamt of having in my life. I am a lucky woman, wife and mother!
RESOLUTION #1 - Be thankful for everything I have in my life, and not expect (much) more!

Here's resolution #2. It's something I always remind myself of, so not sure it's actually a resolution....I'm going to let it be on the list, though, as it's pretty important. ENJOY THE SMALL THINGS IN LIFE, and LIVE IN THE MOMENT. I think we are all guilty of living in the future, rather than the present. When you have a baby in the house, it's easy to constantly think about the next milestone or stage, rather than fully enjoy the one before your eyes. This continues as the child grows. Pretty soon your kids are 5 and 3 and you wonder where the time has gone. I want to hold onto every age and stage as tight as I can, and enjoy every second of it. It's great to dream about who and what the boys will grow into, but I also need to take time and enjoy them for who they are TODAY.
RESOLUTION #2 - Each small (and BIG) moment our family shares on a daily basis, needs to be enjoyed to the fullest, then tucked away to memory when the present becomes the past.

Alright, moving on to my smaller-scale resolutions, here's #3. While I am very good at recycling almost everything that can be recycled in our waste, I haven't been great with separating our organic (compost) waste as of lately. So, this week-end I changed around our recycle/garbage area to include a designated section for organics. So far we are off to a good start. We are fortuante to live in an area that has a great garbage/recycle system. Unlimited oragnic waste can be put out each week, in addition to unlimted recycling and one bag/can of garbage. I am pretty sure it's possible for us to have MORE recycle and organics than garbage, so that is my goal to achieve.
RESOLUTION #3 - Reduce our weekly waste, increase our weekly recyle/organic waste, and thus, lesson our family's environmental footprint.

Resolution #4 is short and sweet. Get back into practicing what I preach. My other blog is all about eating healthy. While I strive for a healthy diet for myself and my family, it's easy to fall off track and go in spurts of not-so-healthy-eating. I hope that we can get back on track, and stay there!
RESOLUTION #4 - cook and enjoy a healthy diet!

Finally, my last resolution. This one is pretty simple. It's about my other blog (that I just mentioned). I started that blog 10 months ago, with the intent of compiling 365 recipes in 365 days. I am a bit behind on it right now, but I am certain it's possible to finish.
RESOLUTION #5 - finish my other blog in 365!

Well, that's all for now. This is a long post. If anyone actually makes it through the whole thing, great. If not, that's okay, too. It feels good to write all this down and I'm glad I have a place to do it! Happy New Year!

Christmas in August

Kids say the darndest things, they really do! While we were out shopping yesterday, Darwin spotted a man in the store that was very tall, rather large, and had longer white hair, with a matching LONG white beard. Without a second thought, he shouted out - "That man looks like Santa!!!" Just as I was turning my head to look, Dylan bellows out a "HO HO HO" to go with the comment. The man noticed, as did many other people, but didn't acknowledge it. I quickly walked in the other direction, not embarrassed, but rather doing my best to not burst out laughing. It was so innocent and sweet :)

Before we went shopping yesterday, we went and had photos taken of the boys. It's something we don't do often (and after paying for the photos, not a habit I will keep), so D&D aren't really used to it. Dylan was great and had no troubles or hesitations. Darwin started out pretty good (bear in mind that the bribe of getting a donut following a successful photo shoot was already on the table), but after a few pics, he grabbed my hand and whispered to me in his soft, raspy little voice - "Mommy, I don't think I want to do this anymore". He is WAY too mature for a little 2 year old! And fortunately way smart, so it was easy to coax him into a few more, so long as Mommy was right there (just hidden from view of the camera), and I upped the ante to include a lollipop! Many wonderful photos later, WAY too much money spent on said photos, and a sugar rush to make any kid delighted - I'd say it was an overall WIN! Hopefully I can share the photos when we get them!

Our Trip!

Wow, so many times I have sat down to write this. The summer seems to be flying by. I can't believe our holiday was a month ago!!! (and let's not mention how long it has been since I last wrote on here....eeek!).

Anyway, without further ado - here is the itinerary and details from our amazing holiday. We packed the van and headed East into the southern Adirondacks. From there we went NorthEast to Vermont, then back west to Lake Placid. This was the first long vacation we had taken with the boys and there were AWESOME! It was so much fun, and filled with so many amazing memories.....

Our first 3 nights were at a cabin in the southern part of the Adirondacks. It was a little slice of heaven. The black flies were horrible (poor Darwin was their favourite), but it forced us to stay inside a little more and just hang out as a family. We read, played games, etc. It was great! At night we lit the little wood stove in the cabin and roasted marshmallows. During the day we were able to squeeze in a few hours of outdoor time. We spent those on the beach (completely private). Day 1 we picnicked on the dock, day 2 we ate lunch on the boat in the middle of the lake! What fun! The boys had so much fun digging in the sand, splashing in the water, catching salamanders, kayaking, etc.  It was perfect!

 

Next 2 nights were in Burlington, VT. The kids especially got a kick out of crossing Lake Champlain on the ferry. We spent a lot of time downtown, enjoying the shops and restaurants. We made the trip to see Ben & Jerry's (FUN!). On our last day in Burlington, we went to the little ECHO museum there. I absolutely LOVE that town and hope to go back at the next chance we get!

 

From there we drove to Lake Placid. Again, another fun ferry ride and amazingly scenic drive! Our hotel in Lake Placid overlooked the lake and mountains. It was wonderful. Lake Placid is a very cutesy tourist town. We walked the shops, ate at a local bakery and a local brewery/pub. There was a beach there that the boys had fun playing and swimming at. On our last day, we decided to do the Olympic stuff. We toured the 1932 and 1980 arenas (and the museum containing memorabelia from both Olympics). We checked out the ski jumps, then went to the bobsled tracks. We went on the tour, so were driven to the top of the track. The views of the mountains and the little surrounding towns were awesome. Then the best part - we got to walk DOWN the track to get to the bottom. It was pretty cool. The track is a mile long. It was the original location of the 1980 Olympic track, but was rebuilt in 1998. Finally, Mike took a ride down the 1932 track. What a ride that was! By the last turn, they said there would have been 2 Gs of force on his sled! He was shaking for a few hours afterwards ;)

 

We stopped for lunch after that at a really fun BBQ joint. Being that we were there during Americade, there were bikers all over the Adirondacks, and this little BBQ joint (called Tail O The Pup) was PACKED with them. It also had a live band, outdoor picnic tables you eat at, a little playground for the kids, etc. It was busy, but loud and our kind of food, so perfect for us. The boys were impressed with all the bikes. It was fun! We hit the road after that and without looking back, made the 7 hour drive home. The kids slept during a lot of the drive, or watched a movie. It's always sad to end your holiday, but also nice to be home.

 

I truly hope that my boys hold onto some of the memories from that trip. I also truly hope that it is the first of many we can enjoy with our sweet little guys. I am a lucky Momma. What a great life!

 

 

Life goes too quickly...

Not a day goes by where I don't think of something I should blog about. But then I remind myself that I don't need to write down every single step of my/our life (that or someone else reminds me!)....and now I find myself blogging every few weeks (at least on this blog).

It's very easy to say I'll write tomorrow and then tomorrow becomes next week, and so on. When you are chasing 2 little boys around all day, sometimes the energy to blog at the end of the day just isn't there (plus that is when I usually write in my other blog). Anyway, I apologize for not keeping up to date on here. I'm trying, but time slips by too often!

Life is the same craziness as usual. This past week-end we had a garage sale. The boys were pretty good about letting go of some of their toys, old clothes, shoes, etc. Some things I thought should be put up for sale remain in the house (still barely touched), but overall they were great about giving things up. They even had a little sale of their own - selling juice boxes and cereal bars. They raked in $7.50!!! Good work boys!

This past week-end we also went to the baptism of my sweet little neice Avery. She looked like a pretty little princess in her dress. Following the baptism, we went back to Avery's for her very first tea party. A few of us wore fancy hats, we drank out of fine china, and we ate miniature sandwiches and cupcakes. Such fun! I may not have a girl of my own, but I am lucky to have 3 little neices to enjoy and get my girly fix through!

Yesterday Mike brewed 2 batches of beer at the house. I can't wait to try the kiwi wit beer! Yum! See - I'm not the only one in the house that likes to make things from scratch!

This week we are trying to get the house back in order before we skip town to Aunt Mindy's. What fun we'll have on Thursday - 3 cousins and 6 kids. Can't wait! Then Friday marks the official countdown until holidays. This will be our first LONG trip with the boys (9-10 days away from home). Everyone is excited and awaiting the fun!

Well, that's enough of an update for now. I shall try to post before we leave for holidays and then of course blog about our trip. Bye for now!