A photo post catch up!

What have we been up to since my computer cord died? Well, here are some photos to catch you up. :)

My little Scooter cat (on the right) has had some pretty rough days. She's been having strokes, losing feeling in her legs, falling against walls, throwing up regularly and even went to the bathroom on the middle of the floor. This is so heartbreaking. I've been pretty heartbroken about her and getting to the point where I know I need to make that horrible decision.. but then she'll turn around and have a bunch of really good days - like right now. This is so hard. She is so happy when she's not having a bad moment and honestly doesn't seem to be in any pain at all. Being a furbaby parent is not easy. I've had her for 15 years and I really don't want to say goodbye yet. I adore this picture of her and Mirri (the rather chunky kitty in the photo) because Scooter never lets the other cats cuddle her anymore. She's very bone-y and I assume it isn't terribly comfortable for her at this point. That evening she let Mirri rest her head on her bum and I could have melted. Awww.

We have had a double whammy of sick furbabies in our house. Tiernan's rat, Ratatta, has mycoplasma (very common among rats) which is a lung illness. She had what's called a "mycro flair up" and it had me crying for days. I didn't like seeing her in pain like that. She was wheezing, coughing, sneezing.. and not just gently. The poor little girl was so defenseless. She would have trouble eating because she wasn't able to breathe (but did eat, which is a good sign!), she slept a LOT, and she would look at me with those gentle little eyes asking for help. The worst was when she stuck her little paw down her throat to try and open up her lungs. Heart wrenching! I spent a lot of time holding her while she slept, giving her extra vitamins A & C and little bits of dark chocolate. I'm happy to report that the flair up is over now, and although she's still not "normal" again, she is much, much better!

Aww, look at Rhi's little nose peeking out from a hole in their hammock! Adorable! Poor Rhi felt lost when Ratatta was sick, too. Usually they cuddle together all day, everyday. When Ratatta was sick she made sure to leave her alone when she was sleeping. Ratties are so smart!

While we're on the topic of pets, November 2nd was Mystic's birthday. Mystic was our border collie cross who we had from the time Avery was 8 months old, and who we had to say farewell to back in February of 2009. She was a beautiful dog, full of life and spunk. She was a runner and loved to herd the kids around when they were little. She was a talker, could get a bit grumpy when kids crawled on her (she had back/hip/leg problems from before she was a year), and had the most amazing brown eyes. She was my buddy, my foot warmer and I miss her each and every day. Mystic loved ice cream cones and we took her over to a local burger joint to get her a doggie cone and she would literally dance across the street after she had one. Before we said farewell to her, we took her to DQ for a cone. Every November 2nd is Mystic Day and we have an ice cream in her memory. The sting from her loss is still there, and I am certain it always will be. My Mickey-Tickey, my love. I'm certain that she was the one who brought Tibby into our lives. I still remember talking about her with Kyle while doing the dishes one morning and just bursting into tears. One of us suggested going to the Quinte Humane Society to walk some dogs (something we did from time to time) so we headed out there that Sunday afternoon. We walked a few dogs, and then I saw him. Tibbs was sitting in his kennel, keeping completely quiet and just watching me. I was drawn to him like nothing I'd ever experienced before. We took him out and knew right then and there we couldn't leave without him. I truly believe Mystic was with me that day and helped me find this boy we have now.

I am a firm believer that sometimes we need down time. That goes for my kids, too. Rhianna was feeling really under the weather and was barely eating, so I suggested she stay home for a day to recoup and rest. It was apparently just what the doctor ordered because she felt 100% better by the evening and was back to her normal self - jumping out of bed the next morning with a bounce in her step, ready to take on the day!

Rhianna's birthday is back in July, but it's nearly impossible to organize a birthday party with her friends for summertime. Instead, we wait until the Fall to celebrate. This year we went out to the movies to watch Puss n' Boots with her brothers and six of her friends from dance and school. Unfortunately, one other friend of hers was unable to make it (the poor girl has been super sick.. we're thinking about you, Kayla!). Since the party was at the theatre we decided to make some popcorn cupcakes! Rhianna just loved them!

Even her loot bags were theatre themed! Everything you need to curl up and watch a movie. ;)

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. We had a dance-a-thon for the dance studio the weekend before Halloween and I had a blast dancing around with the kids. :) I sent some snackies into school with the kids (these are the kitty cupcakes I sent with Rhianna), I made some Halloween themed food (but was in such a rush I only took pictures of one thing!), and the kids went out trick-or-treating with friends for the first time ever. I followed Rhianna around with some of my friends (mothers of Rhianna's friends) and admittedly felt a little strange without my boys! Guess I need to get used to this whole independence thing.

Here is the one photo I took - our candy corn pudding dessert. Cute, yes?

Avery dressed up as Charlie Brown's ghost from 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!'... not as the holy ghost as my friend Laura thinks! Haha.

Tiernan went as Link from Legend of Zelda!

And Rhianna went as Pippi Longstocking!

My lovely little crew before everyone dispersed for the night. Kyle dressed as a Wizard that night (I was a witch, as per every single Halloween). Even Tibby dressed up in Mystic's old hippy costume. :D I love them, oh yes I do!

How cute is Tiernan's Jack Skellington? ♥

So that about sums up our lives for the past couple of weeks. Add into this a whole lot of visits to the dance studio, a first visit to Brownies, lots of exciting soccer games for Avery (good grief, this level is intense!), plenty of soccer practices and development training, working for both Kyle and I, a tummy bug that has hit only Kyle and myself... and I think that may be it. Phew! ;)

A delicious meal made by my man!

Apparently my kids are ready for back to school. While I was at work, Kyle was doing the stay-at-home-dad thing, and the kids gave him a run for his money. It was a busy errand running day, and our lovely children were on edge and arguing over silly little things. By the time I got home, I think Kyle was D-O-N-E! They've since calmed down after eating a big meal, doing the dinner dishes and sitting down in their jammies to watch a show with me. Hopefully the rest of the weekend is smooth sailing. Especially now that it looks like we won't be able to do the things we had planned due to weather.

Look who got a haircut! However, contrary to how it looks, he is not strangling our Mirri cat. :)

Kyle had our dinner mostly done by the time I got off work, and it was very yummy! He made the Chickpea Sensation Patties, Potato Squashers, Thick & Rich Gravy (all from Eat, Drink, Be Vegan) and a caesar salad (Surprise! We love caesar salads around here.). Mmm.

Chickpea Sensation Patties

2 tsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

1/8 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed

2 cloves garlic, quartered

2 tbsp worcestershire sauce (vegetarian friendly)

2 tbsp soy sauce

3/4 tsp dried thyme

1/8 tsp salt

2 cups cooked short grain brown rice

3/4 cup + 1 tbsp oats

Saute the onion, celery, salt and pepper in oil for 7-10 minutes, until soft. Meanwhile, in a food processor, puree the chickpeas, garlic, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, thyme and salt until well blended. Add sauteed veggies and puree some more. Add 1 cup rice and puree. Add the second cup of rice, and pulse a bit, leaving a good texture.

Transfer to a bowl and add the oats. Mix well, cover, and chill for 30 minutes to firm it up. Form into patties with moist hands and cook on an indoor grill until browned. (The recipe suggested frying them in some olive oil, which we opted against. In retrospect, it might have been better that way because they were a bit too dry done on the grill.)

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Potato Squashers

5-7 medium sized red or Yukon gold potatoes

olive oil

coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pierce potatoes with a knife, place on the baking sheet and bake for 45-60 minutes until tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and increase heat to 450. Squash each potato with a wooden spoon making each into an uneven round. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with the coarse salt. Cook for 10-12 minutes, remove from oven, flip them, and drizzle the other side with some olive oil. Return to oven and cook another 12-15 minutes.

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Thick and Rich Gravy

1 cup vegetable broth

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 tbsp mild miso

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, sliced

2 tsp onion powder

1 tbsp arrowroot powder

2 tbsp tahini

1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 1/2 tsp black strap molasses

1/2-3/4 tsp agave nectar

2 tbsp olive oil

Place all of the ingredients into a pot, and, using an immersion blender, puree together. Heat the gravy to a boil, reduce the heat and cook for 2-3 minutes to thicken. Taste and add more vinegar if needed.

A cheesy beer risotto? Oh yes, indeed!

I made a very interesting risotto from my Moosewood: Simple Suppers cookbook! It's called a rarebit risotto... not a typical risotto, but the beer and cheddar cheese was a really yummy combination. I also dry-fried some tofu and marinated it in a sweet and sour marinade from the same cookbook. They tasted great, but I definitely didn't see it as "sweet and sour". Not my perception of it at any rate. I also baked some savory cheese biscuits that I mentioned before (which I love) and a baby spinach and apple salad with a sweet red wine vinegar dressing from La Dolce Vegan. Not my favourite dressing, but Kyle and Rhianna loved it.

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Rarebit Risotto

1 quart vegetable broth

1 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

1 1/2 cups beer (I used a Creemore Springs lager)

3 cups chopped broccoli

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

4 cups loosely packed grated cheddar cheese

heavy sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper

In a saucepan, bring the broth to a boil and then simmer.

In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the oil over med heat. Add the rice and stir to coat in oil. Add the beer, and stir until the beer is absorbed. Once the beer has absorbed start adding the broth a cup at a time, waiting until the liquid is absorbed before adding more.

While the risotto is cooking, steam the broccoli until it is still bright green, but tender. (Just a warning.. if you reheat it like I did, the broccoli will lose some of that bright green colour.) Set aside.

When the last of the broth is absorbed, the rice should be al dente and the risotto moist. Add the mustard and cheese, and stir until combined. Stir in the broccoli and black pepper and serve hot.

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Sweet and Sour Marinade for Tofu (but not to s&s-y!)

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp dark sesame oil

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp fresh ginger root, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp maple syrup

Mix it all together!

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Sweet Red Wine Vinaigrette

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

3 tbsp red wine vinegar

1/4 tsp paprika

1 tbsp maple syrup

1/4 cup flax oil

1/4 cup olive oil

Mix it all together, and keep it in the fridge with a lid until ready to use.

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And just for the cuteness factor....

My boy and his baby. ♥

My girl and her baby. ♥

Have I ever mentioned that I have the best kids in the world? I really do.

Blessed Beltane, 2011!

This is one of my most favourite days of the year! A lot of our rituals we didn't do today for multiple reasons, the biggest being how busy we were and my very, very sick husband. Instead of the big feast I had planned on, we ate leftovers. There was no new Maypole, no Goddess bread and definitely no bonfire. There was milk for the fairies, our beautiful altar and time spent outside. Tonight there was also be Beltane stories with the kids.

Avery's indoor soccer team had a wind up today with a parent vs kid game, pizza/fruit/cookies/chips lunch and lots of great conversations. Kyle even tried playing soccer for a while, but ended up in pretty rough shape after the fact. Rhianna jumped in and played on the 'parent' team and really dug in there. That girl is fierce! Tiernan, like Kyle, played for a bit before having to sit out again. His lungs just aren't back to normal yet. It was fun to get together with all of the soccer families one last time to wrap up the season. Avery was happy to have that time with his teammates. I'm glad we all ended up going!

Some sad news today, though. We have two pet rats, Rhi and Ratatta. I discovered that our poor little rattie, Rhi, broke her little hand. It isn't swollen or discolored, so I'm hoping that's a good sign. However, she is squeaking a lot and it refusing to use her hand at all. It's the saddest thing to watch. :( I really hope it heals up quickly. She will definitely be getting lots of gentle loving from all of us. Having pets can be so difficult sometimes.

On a better note... I have big plans to overwhelm you with photos from my day. ;)

Battle of the siblings! Avery vs Rhianna!

I live in the house of geeks (myself included) and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Showing me that the fairies drank half the milk we left out last night!

The colour that Spring brings along makes me feel like I've been born again.

I can't wait for the raspberries this year. I planted it last year, but it was already a second year plant, so I got some raspberries from it. This year I'm hoping for even more! Raspberries are my favourite.

I know he looks all sophisticated in this picture, but really... he was trying to ask Avery to feed him. ;)

Here are few of my favourite items on our Beltane '11 altar...

Freshly picked tulip and daffodils.

My Goddess of fertility.

Our makeshift Maypole. The ribbons symbolize all the different kinds of love. Next year I plan on having many more colours, for many more types of love.

This is one of Rhianna's fairies. Mother and Baby love.

My beautiful pregnant fairy. ♥

My newest fairy. We got this one from our dear friends, Michelle and Lonnie, while they were out visiting us in April.

And last, but certainly not least... Rhianna's baby dragon. You can't really tell in the photo, but he has just hatched from an egg. Seemed very fitting for Beltane seeing as it's main focus is on fertility.

All in all it's been a pretty fantastic Beltane. Now I just wish for a healthy family, and a rattie with a healed up hand. Surely both of those things are not too much to ask for.

Blessed be!

Those who know me know I'm an avid photographer. I've always had a camera within arms reach. Even as a child, I took a lot of pictures with my little point and shoot film camera. When I had my first child, Avery, I was given my Dad's Pentax SLR, and I loved that camera fully and completely. I have some really great photos of my son.. like the pictures of him lying naked on his tummy on the floor with his Winnie the Pooh toys. I won't put those up on here since he's 11 years old now and wouldn't talk to me for weeks if I did, but trust me when I say they are adorable! A few years later I was introduced to digital cameras and I was hooked. I bought myself a Canon Powershot and took as many photos as I could. As much as I loved the fact that I could take a thousand photos and only print the ones I loved, I still missed the versatility of my SLR. When my husband bought me a Canon Rebel xt back in 2005, I was in heaven. I got the best of both worlds... SLR and digital? Oh yes! I literally took thousands of pictures a month until I finally laid it to rest in the summer of 2010. This left me with no DSLR and no means to buy myself a new one. My very generous children lent me their point and shoot digital cameras to get me by, and I really appreciated it (and even got a few great shots!).... it just wasn't quite the same.

It's embarrassing to admit this, but I became lost without my Rebel. I felt depressed. I felt like a huge part of me was missing and I was no longer myself. What that says about me, I'm not sure. And I'm certainly not sure I like that! However, it's the truth. I literally look at the world through the eye of my camera. I don't sit in the van watching out the window thinking, 'Wow, that's beautiful!'. I think, 'Wow, that would make a beautiful photo!'. There have been so many moments that my husband has had to endure my sighing and sadness over a lost photo opportunity. There have been many times that I've just passed those opportunities right by without bothering to try with my kids' cameras.

But today, that sadness is gone. Do you know what I did? After the encouragement of my husband, I went out and bought myself a new DSLR! Originally I had wanted to switch to a Nikon, but after taking the lenses and accessories that I already had into consideration, I settled on another Canon (t1i, incase you were wondering!). There is not one bit of me that's disappointed by that, either. I went out this morning and picked it up, and I've barely set it down since! I also picked up a macro lens (I already have a telephoto), some filters and an external flash. So many goodies, so little time!

I've been spending a lot of time trying to capture the personalities of my furbabies on camera now. They were all getting annoyed with me when I finally decided to call it quits for a little while. We have many furry friends in our house. Two ratties, Ratatta and Rhi. Ratatta (brown/grey) has been sick with a chest infection lately, and although the wheezing and sneezing went away while she was on two types on antibiotics, it seems to be back again (not even a week later). I have been trying to get some good pictures of her since she is my son Tiernan's rat and I know how heart broken he'll be when she eventually passes. They just don't live long enough, these ratties. Today, I finally got some good shots of both rats! That way my daughter Rhianna will have some good shots of Rhi for her own photo album. We also have three cats - Mirri (the plump cat in the photo on the left), Solange (the other cat in the photo on the left) and Scooter (who is an old girl and has been sleeping in the dimly lit corner in the basement all afternoon so no good pictures of her), and one dog - Tibbs, our Sharpei-Lab cross.

Expect lots more photos of my kids, my husband, my furbabies, our adventures and our food! Be warned! Hehe.

No photos of food today, though, sorry. I was planning on making sushi, but didn't have enough rice. We're going to grab some food out tonight.. something we so rarely do these days.