Three down, one to go...

Well, Clown and I just had "The Talk".


He has heard various terms and knows some things about puberty. Aunt Flo for girls, hormones causing changes, etc. The past few months he has been asking a lot about detail and I tend to go into too much detail. I kept on putting it off in hopes that he would catch me in a mood when I would not give TMI. We have a pretty open policy here in the home about coming to us with anything at all, this topic not being an exception. Have always used correct terms for body parts, etc.

Finally today he came into the bedroom just as I was about to go downstairs to do math and history with he and Princess. He said, basically, "OK, that's it. I want to know how the sperm gets to the egg." I had asked him the other night if he had any ideas. He claimed he didn't but I think he had pretty much figured it out and just didn't want to come out and say it!

So we talked as he hid under the covers on his Dad's side of the bed and I sat there on my side. For much of it, he was turned away from me. He would ask questions before I could even finish one explanation. Every so often he would turn toward me, his mouth agape in horror and whatever I had just divulged would bring up five more questions. Was an interesting conversation. He wasn't as horrified as Cryptic had been. I remember he could not even bring himself to LOOK at his dad for days after! LOL

Anyway, at the end of the whole thing Clown quipped, "Oooooh!! So do you think they call them "Sperm Whales" because they like to "do it" more than any other whales??"

That's my boy!!!

Pumpkin Cake Roll

Ok Jude, this is for you.

The pictures are not the greatest. The icing sugar had soaked in on the top because it had been made the day before and sitting in the fridge. I didn't sprinkle any more on, cause I was too lazy. Also, obviously we had cut into it and eaten some before I thought to take a photo:)

I got this recipe from Princess' cooking class LAST fall. She made this when she was seven years old! I was impressed. She always brought back samples from class and when I bit into this...I tell you. I loved it! Maybe you won't love it as much as me now that I have built it up. It IS a nice comfort food for the sweet tooth and such a seasonal thing. I am sure anyone who tries this will love it!!

I went out and bought a jelly roll pan JUST to make this and it was so worth it. I will make these much more often. I had never braved a jelly roll or anything of this nature just because I thought it must be complicated and time consuming. When Princess made it I figured if a 7 year old can make it with just limited supervision, I am sure I can! LOL I was shocked at how simple this was. She was going to help me, but she got involved in watching a movie with her brothers, so I was on my own.

Maybe you can whip up a few to have on hand for your sisters?? I know not all of them live right there near you now, but you know what I am saying. Nice to have on hand at a time like this, right??









Ok, here goes...

Cake:                              Icing :

3/4 cup of flour                   6 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tsp. ground cinnamon             1/4 cup butter softened
1 tsp. baking powder               1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp. ground ginger               1 cup icing sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3 eggs
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4-1/3 cup icing sugar, sifted

1. Allow eggs to stand at room temp for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Grease 15X10X1 inch jelly roll pan. Line the bottom with wax paper and spray with cooking spray. Set aside
3.Combine dry ingredients except for icing sugar. That is to sprinkle on finished cake roll & towel when cake part is done baking.
4.In a large bowl, beat eggs and oil with electric mixer on high until thick. About 5 minutes. (2 or 3 worked fine for me) Gradually beat in the sugar. Stir in pumpkin and lemon juice. Mix with flour mixture.
5. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes or until the top springs back when touched.
6.Remove from oven & immediately loosen edges of cake from pan and turn cake out onto a towel sprinkled with icing sugar. Remove waxed paper. Roll towel and cake into a spiral, starting from the short side of cake. Cool on a wire rack.
7.Make icing by creaming together cream cheese, butter and vanilla on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add icing sugar, beating after each addition until smooth.
8.Unroll cake, remove towel. Spread cake with icing to withing 1 inch of edges. Roll up cake; trim ends. Cover and chill until serving time. Dust with a light sifting of icing sugar before serving. Makes 12 servings.


So let me know when you get a chance to make it and what you think. It is truly delectable!

Fun

So I got this from Jude. Thought it would be fun.

1. Where is your cell phone? Charging

2. Where is your significant other? Playing guitar at the first church service.

3. Your hair color? Auburn with LOTS of gray that is currently being masked.

4. Your mother? At my brother's in Calgary.

5. Your father? With my mother, other brother at my bro and SIL's in Calgary.

6. Your favorite thing? Looking at pictures of my kids or being with my kids.

7. Your dream last night? Something weird about my parents' young foster boy.

8. Your dream/goal? To live on at least 2 acres of land and have goats, etc again.

9. The room you're in? My bedroom.

10. Your hobby? Love to do a lot of things, never get time:( Painting, hiking, sewing. Never do any of them:(

11. Your fear? My husband or any of my children dying.

12. Where do you want to be in six years? On some land, milking goats and listening to my children run around laughing and playing in the fresh air on said land.

13. Where were you last night? My daughter's 8th birthday party at a local swimming pool.

14. What you’re not? I am not happy with all the zits I seem unable to rid myself of!

15. One of your wish list items? For my husband to move us onto land like we always said we would do. We said we would raise our children on some land with trees and we have ALWAYS lived in the city. My dream is for him to remember what I THOUGHT was our dream together and actually do something to work towards it coming true.

16. Where you grew up? On 80 acres West of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in the BEST country on earth!

17. The last thing you did? Asked one of my daughter's slumber party guests if she was hungry yet and wanted me to make her any breakfast. (she said no, not yet)

18. What are you wearing? A pink tank top and men's boxers with Canadian flags all over them. A big fluffy white robe on top of all that.

19. Your TV? VERY nice! Flat screen LCD with HD. It is honestly very pretty for a TV. Has ruby red kind of subtly worked in to the edge.

20. Your pet? Two cats and a one dog. I want more dogs and some goats, chickies, kitties, horses...you get the idea:( *sniff*

21. Your computer? Yup. It is sitting right here. No clue what kind or anything.

22. Your mood? hungry and my back hurts.

23. Missing someone? My paternal grandmother, three of my uncles, my aunt, my cousin and my baby brother. All of the above died within the past five years except for one of the uncles. I wish people would STOP doing that!

24. Your car? 1995 Honda Accord. If you really want to know details, you can go here. I remember him saying something about the exact kind.

25. Something you’re not wearing? A bra or anything on my feet. I cannot STAND anything on my feet.

26. Favorite store? I have a few, but Target seems to be where I get most of the things that we need. Even some things we don't need! LOL

27. Your summer? Yuck. I don't really enjoy summer.

28. Love someone? Absolutely, many.

29. Your favorite color? Deep blue and/or deep purple.

30.When is the last time you laughed? yesterday at the antics of my second-born at his sister's party.

31. Last time you cried? Wow...it has been a while. Oh no, I guess it was last week while talking on the phone about my baby brother with my Mum. She didn't even cry (which is real progress) it was only me crying for a bit.

Alrighty, better go feed myself and get these kids fed! Anyone who wants to do this, feel free. Please let me know, though, so I can come and read it:)

Character

I just HAD to share some photos of Jock from his sister's 8th birthday party this afternoon.

First, he is licking the icing off the Hannah Montana lip gloss guitar that was on the cake. I get a kick out of the this because of the looks on the little girls' faces. You can see Princess reassuring them that all is well, this is just Jock being Jock! I have never put a photo on my blog without the kids' parents' permission...I need to check with them I guess, I just CANNOT resist. I just find this SO FUNNY! Especially K, the girl with black hair in the brown clothes. She is in one of Princess' dance classes and is a hoot herself! I am assuming she doesn't have any older brothers, by the look on her face:)

Then Jock decided he would make himself an outfit from the ribbons and wrappings and such...




See why I love this kid?? Never a dull moment! No need to hire entertainment, just bring Jock along! I should put some video out here of he and his friend sucking all the helium from the balloons and having a grand old time!









Then here is this guy. My calm, cool, and collected Cryptic. Here he is, long fingernails and all (they are not currently painted black, as you have most likely ascertained on your own) sweetly capturing memories of his sister and her guests frolicking in the swimming pool that we rented out for the hour. *contented sigh* Isn't he handsome??





So Princess had a wonderful time. Aside from me having Stud cut two different kinds of cheese into teeny leaf shapes to go with the crackers and meat and after all that ~ forgetting them at home!...and forgetting the ice cream scooper and cake slicer here at home...and Clown thinking he forgot his trunks and towel at home and dissolving in tears, only to quickly recover and wipe frantically at his eyes when Stud told him he packed them and all was well...I think it went pretty well! OH! I also totally forgot my DELICIOUS pumpkin loaf with cream cheese. I will take a photo of that and post it soon. If anyone wants the recipe, let me know. It is truly DIVINE.

So the post is title the way it is because of Jock. When I discovered those photos on the camera on the drive home, Stud and I said that at least some of them would end up on our blogs. Teehee He begged us not to and said he was hyper. That is fine, they are still going on the blogs:) Be curious to see which ones Stud uses:)

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

Advice

As the title implies, I am seeking some advice.

I have noticed the past three years or so that people gravitate toward Princess. I mean, they always have been taken with her. She is very sweet, cute, funny and just draws people in by her demeanor. Since infancy, people commented on her eyes and curls (when she had them! LOL) and cuteness. Right now I am talking about her personality and how it seems to draw people.

It is just the past three years or so that it has become more and more clear that she is looked upon as...what I guess people call "popular". Kids of all ages want to be her friend. She has friends who are ten and eleven and friends as young as four or five.

I am not sure if I posted about various instances from a few years ago when she attended public school. It is always interesting to watch other kids around her. Ones in her dance class, horse back lessons, and for sure when she attended public school for her Kindergarten year. Kids just gaze at her so adoringly and always watch to see what she will do and then they follow along. I think I talked about one example and how she instructed all the kids who took the bus home to sit on a certain side of the bus so that as it drove past, they could wave to her as she and I walked home after school. They happily did that ALL YEAR long. I thought they would tire of it or forget about it after a few weeks. No sir! The entire year, they watched and waved and just seemed so excited to be waving to her every day. If sometimes we were late or early and didn't see the bus, kids asked her about it later. "Princess! I didn't see you and your Mommy waving yesterday after school?? What happened??"

So now she takes this Friday morning science class. Other kids want to partner up with her do to any assignments together. They don't "fight" over her, but I can tell she is torn and doesn't know what to do and which ones to work with. They do seem to be getting a bit agitated at the thought of her not "choosing" them. She looked at me helplessly and shrugged her shoulders today when two girls were wanting her to work with them on identifying birds.

She has been better about getting into lines first at dance class. She used to ALWAYS be first to line up for get the hands stamped after dance lessons or music lessons. I spoke with her about it and explained that other kids need to be first as well and how she can take turns. She told me the kids TELL her to get in front and I knew she was right. I had seen it. They would motion for her to go first, even if she had stepped back to allow them in. I would watch and these girls would just kind of look at her in awe as she walked past, like she was Princess Diana or something. They all really seem taken with her. I mean, it is NOT her fault or anything.

Here is my dilemma. I don't want her getting arrogant. I think she is starting to really notice this treatment a lot more and notice other girls maybe not being treated the same way. I am not sure WHY she is viewed in this manner.

So what do I do?? Do I just keep the lines of communication open and be there for her if she starts asking why people treat her this way?? I know she has noticed in the area of her looks. People always comment on her being so "cute" and "beautiful" and all this. She has heard it all her life. It is tapering off a bit as she gets older, THANK GOODNESS, but I know it will start up again when she is late teens or something and totally stunning again. I almost want her to get some acne or get crooked teeth or something and not be so pretty! I know that sounds horrible, which leads me to my next question.

How do I help it not bother her brothers?? They are starting to resent her, mainly Clown. He is closest in age to her, so it impacts him the most. He has come to me crying a few times, asking why people don't comment on his looks all the time as they do her. I never know what to say?? I think he is very handsome. And sometimes people say so. The thing is 98% of the time we go ANYWHERE, people turn and look at Princess or come right up and say something. They don't say anything about him:( It is hurting him and he is resenting his sister. But it is not her fault!

So what can I do?? IS there anything I can do?? It bothers Jock a little bit, but with the looks thing, he seems a but consoled by the fact that they look a lot alike! LOL We always say she is a female version of him. So even though he acts like she is an annoying little sister and therefore seen as hideous to him, it does seem to console him a bit. He even says to me a few times a year, "You know, Princess really IS a very attractive little girl. It bugs me when people always say it, especially when she is there to hear. But I DO understand why. She REALLY is pretty!"

How do I help her with being torn between all kinds of people wanting her attention? And how do I help the boys not resent her and get their feelings hurt??

Thanks!

Can it be true??

My baby turned eight years old this past Friday. My oldest baby will be 16 years old next month...I was 39 on the 1st of this month.

WHAT IS HAPPENING!! I DON'T LIKE THIS!!!

So here are a few shots from the birthday itself. Her party is this coming Saturday the 18th at a local pool. She is beside herself with excitement of course!

As my few regular readers may recall, we hide gifts for the kids on their birthdays. They play hot and cold, go on a treasure hunt by reading clues, etc. Adds to the fun! So she found this horse thing that she had been wanting, hidden under her pillow there in the fort. She and Clown sleep in there on the weekends. They love to sleep under the piano! Goofy kiddos!






Jock did not want to be in this photo of her opening what her three brothers got her. He had not showered, which means he had not done his hair. So if his hair is not "just so"...you understand, I am sure. You know how 13 year old boys can be:)



I LOVE THIS ONE! She and Clown started doing the jewelry making kit. Clown loved to do it, but there were not many things that could pass as "masculine" and of course Jock started making fun of him for playing with a "girl toy". Princess is looking at him like, "Please Clown! Just make some of this stuff with me!!" And he is looking at me like, "MUM! Get that camera out of here!" LOVE IT!




Alrighty, even though I need to get to bed to get Princess to drama class in the morning, I am going to settle in and watch some "Corner gas" with Stud. We love this show. The only trouble is every time we watch it, I crave my good old Canadian junk food that I see in the background:)

Toodles!

Braces

Can you believe this!?!?

He just needs them on the top for 8-10 months to correct his crossbite.

He was very brave!