Banana Bread...mmm...

For the most part my kids love bananas, but every once in a while they go on a banana strike and the bananas sit in the fruit bowl turning brown. That's the perfect time for banana bread!!

I found this recipe on http://www.todaysparent.com/. They have lots of easy kid friendly recipes. It's so easy to make and the kids love helping me make it. It's also peanut free, so it can be sent to school for a lunch time snack.

Here it is:

1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar (I sometimes use Splenda instead - the kids never notice)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter
2 ripe bananas
2 egss

Mix flour, sugar and baking soda in a bowl. Put the rest of the ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth. Poor blender contents into bowl with dry ingredients and stir thoroughly. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for about an hour.

Here are a couple of tips I encountered after our last batch:

1. If your 3 year old is playing with playdough before you start, put it away or else she will 'improvise' on your recipe when your back is turned for a split second.

2. If your 6 year old insists he knows how to crack an egg, make sure he understands that the contents of the egg need to go inside the blender with the rest of the ingredients and not splat in its entirety on the table.

Enjoy!

Shea Hates Peanuts

Shea always seems to say the funniest things when we're in the changeroom for swimming lessons. Today, we were beside a little boy and his mother. As soon as the mother stripped her boy down, he broke free and started running around the changeroom squealing with delight (as most naked little boys do). Shea looks at me and says "Why is that little boy running around naked?". "I don't know" I said. "Maybe he's playing a game with his mommy".

"I hate naked boys" She says. Trying not to burst out laughing I ask "Why". "Because they have peanuts. They have peanuts growing out of thier bums and I hate peanuts!"

I didn't even know what to say. It was hilarious. I think I'll save the story for her wedding day. :)

Easter Disappointment

They only come out for a short time once a year. I absolutely love the Cadbury Cream eggs! What I do not love however, is when I see them on display in store and get all excited, throw one in with my other purchases, start peeling the foil wrapper as soon as I get in the car (because there is no way I can wait till I get home), take my first bite and then...realize instead of the soft, creamy, sweet 'yolk', I bite into a mouthful of dried, obviously past its expiry date and sutible for filling holes in the wall type of center. Gross! What a letdown.

Of course this will not thwart my attempts to buy more during this short season.

Birthday Madness

It has been six weeks since the Christmas break. Between my two kids we have received six birthday party invitations from classmates - one every week!

As a parent, you always hope your child will fit in and have some friends. So the occassional invite can be pretty comforting. This, on the other hand is becoming a little much.

Of course my kids are thrilled and want to go to every party they are invited to. I think for the most part it's for the cake and loot bags!

Whether it's a friend's or your own, I remeber birthday parties being a big part of childhood. I plan on enjoying this phase in my kids' lives as long as I can. I just hope my bank account can handle all the gift purchases. :)

Snowboarding Sundays

Yesterday I got to do one of my favourite things - watch Seth snowboard! He has been taking lessons every Sunday for a few weeks now and is really picking it up!

The winters are really long in Muskoka and I wanted to make sure my kids had an activity to pass the time.

Seth never really got into hockey (which is actually fine by me), so I asked him if he wanted to try snowboarding. He loves it! It's really expensive to get started, but I figured it's not much more than hockey and it's something he actually wants to do.

It looks like so much fun. I'm considering taking my own lessons. Maybe next winter...I'll keep you posted.

So far today has been a pretty busy day. We dropped Seth off at a birthday party for 10am. Then we had to take Shea to her swimming lessons at 10:30. We had lunch at Shea's favourite restuarant - "Uncle Louis" and then picked Seth up from his party at 1.

Seth is starting to form a group of close friends. They call themselves "The Crew". It's so cute because they're all only 6 or 7 years old. It's an interesting transition. A few years ago Seth had many friends, but he didn't really seem to develop any close attachments. He just got along with everyone and depending on how he felt on a particular day, he would choose a different friend to play with. Now they seem to grouping together based on common interests and there is definitely more consistency in who he chooses to play with.

Shea is a little different. She is very set in her ways on who she likes and who she doesn't. Today at swimming she was in the shower waiting for her class to be called and she points to the little boy standing in front of her and says: "I hate that boy mommy". His mom was standing right next to me, so I more than a little mortified!

"Why would you say that Shea, that's not nice." I said. "Because he doesn't answer me when I ask him something." Poor little boy, Shea has made her judgement and that's it. It's amazing how at the age of 3, I can already see the woman she will become. Look out boys, you will not stand a chance!

Welcome

I have been toying with the idea of blog for some time but often wondered if it was something I would be able to keep up on a regular basis. I have decided to take the leap, so welcome!

I should warn you though, if you are one of those people who dreads stories about people's children - you have come to the wrong place! A big part of my world revolves around my kids, so you can expect to find a lot of that here.

Of course I do have some what of a life outside of kids, and hopefully I will have the opportunity to share some of those experiences with you as well.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy what you find here.