My Little Holiday

Ahhh! Yup, that was nice, mostly.

Last week my hubby and I went to the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. http://www.templegardens.sk.ca/ It was great, day 1 we did shopping, some in Regina (1/2hr drive) some in Moose Jaw, luckily hubby is an enthusiastic shopper. He went to the hard ware shops and such. I went to Micheals and got some swarovski crystal for family pride bracelets i wanted to make and they were on sale, yay( see photo of mine) and , I bought jeans that were 1 size smaller than usual ON SALE!! then just to amaze myself I found the brown heels I have been looking for. For me shoe shopping is a nightmare, I have wide feet and VERY high arches, but i got shoes, and... they were on sale too!! OH WOW!! Good times folks, can't tell ya the high. I found stuff and everything i bought was on sale, how amazing was that? Then we had supper with a couple he is friends with, and she ordered a set of jewelry based on the bracelet i made for my hubby, score! Then a dip in the pool before bed.

Day 2 I bumped into a friend, and we had lunch. ends up she wanted to order a custom set of my antler jewelry for her moms B-day! double score. Then it was off for massages, and the guy working on my husband was from my home town and had been a client of mine when i was doing massage work, cool. went for a swim. Then the yummiest meal ever at the best place to eat I have ever been too. Hopkins dining parlour is a restored old mansion with all sorts of antiques. And apparently it's haunted by the orginal owners wife, Millie Hopkins But nothing creepy has ever happened and I have been there several times and have NEVER had anything that wasn't amazingly tasty. http://www.2020website.net/p-hopkins.html Then the pool. the pool is a fed from a natural mineral spring and is as warm as some hot tubs, it is also partially outdoors. when we went into the outdoor part the steamy mist was fairly thick making it seem more private than it is. also my hair actually froze! And there was a family with a couple toddlers and the kids were wearing touques! Ha, only in Saskatchewan do you need a touque to swim! Too funny!

Then we got a call from the guy taking care of our pets... the darn cats tipped over the filter in the fish tank and flooded the flooring and leaked downstairs all over the carpeting. he happens to have a wet vac so he got the carpet for us. but the lamanent(sp?) floor upstairs... will need to be replaced, not immediately, but it is somewhat damaged.

Ok so next morning we are having breakfast and my mom calls, my daughter who happens to be diabetic is having stomach aches and her blood sugar is very high. Si I give the sick day info and call back in a couple hours, she feels better, sugar still a bit high, managed to eat a few crackers. Now i am a knot of worry, so call back around noon, and she was OK. So then we went on a tour of the tunnels under Moose Jaw, some were used as Al Capponnes hide out, and some were used by the Chinese immigrants. very educational. then another dip in the pool, supper and off for home. It was a good few days, but the floor is a downer. Oh well we had a good time.

The Weeknd of Company

Phew!! What a busy couple of days!!

My good friend and fellow etsy artist Elaine (tooaquarius.etsy.com) and her daughter were down for a visit. As it was her B-day and her daughter is a good friend of my eldest daughtetrs we had Chloe over for a 2 night sleepover Fri and Sat. At the same time my in-laws were down to visit and they haven't seen the kids since before Christmas!!

So Sat afternoon (Valentines) we took all 6 kids to the hotel where the in-laws were staying and went swimming, and then we went out for burgers. That evening the kids played and the adults played a board game and chatted.

Sun we took the kids and In-laws to church, and then out for a brunch smorg, and good thing because I don't think I have ever seen the kids so hungry!! The 5 yr old ate way more than I did!! That evening we had a pork roast supper, and then I brought out the birthday cake, a white chocolate cheesecake with whipped cream and strawberries. Elaine must have liked it because I got several thank-you s and tiny little thing that she is had 2 helpings ( gotta tease ya, sorry) That night Adaira slept over with Chloe at E's hunnys house , who happens to be my hubbies best friend (cool no?) Today (mon) is Family day, Adaira was dropped off at 1:00 ish and Elaine and Chloe headed for home. I am a bit tired and wish we could have visited (crafted with) with Elaine more, but oh well maybe next time won't be so busy.

Happy Birthday!!

Baking with kids

MMMM cake!!

This week I have a few baking projects to do. I have a cake for a church function happening today, cupcakes for my sons kindergarten class Valentines party, and a B-day cake for my friend and fellow etsy artist Elaine aka Tooaquarius.

Last night I started making the cake for the church, angelfood cake hollowed out and filled with chocolate mousse. My daughter age 7 wanted to help sooo badly. I made the cake and she made the mousse, measuring out and adding all the ingrediants, and using my hand mixer like a pro. Actually her mousse was as good or better than mine! And the best part for herwas licking the beaters off! For me the best part was cooking with my daughter, like my mom used to bake with me. Oh the memories, and lessons learned, baking is a fun way to begin teaching the kids to cook, and they are so proud of themselves! At moms hip was where I began my passion for cooking, and I think my middle child here has it too. One of my goals as a mom is to ensure all 5 of them can cook. At least enough to feed themselves before they leave home. Mac n cheese are all well and good on occasion but I don't want them to have to live off of it. Here is the final result--> She did a great job!

Tonight I make the cupcakes and I will be getting my boy to help me with them as well, at 4 he could flip pancakes, so mixing up cupcakes should be no problem! Now, who to help with Elaines cheesecake...