Baking the Alphabet

Yesterday, as I mentioned, we made gingerbread cookies. My mum had given me a mix that was about to expire so I had to use it. We also had alphabet cookie cutters from Williams-Sonoma and since it's too early to make gingerbread men, we made gingerbread letters!

Ronan is such a good helper in the kitchen now. As soon as I put my apron on, he runs over and grabs his and he knows its baking time! He loved the cookie cutters and said each letter as we cut them out. We had exactly enough dough to do every letter in the alphabet once, so it worked out really well!

Pouring the mix in (The Sherry is for the fruit flies!)

Mixing it all up

A glass of milk while the cookies are in the oven

They were delicious!

Pasta Bake

I made pasta bake for dinner last night and since I have had a few people ask me for the recipe, I thought I would post it here.

Pasta Bake

• 4 cups Rotini pasta
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/3 cup green pepper, diced
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

- preheat oven to 350
- cook pasta until al dente
- saute beef, onion, and grenn pepper until beef is cooked
- combine with pasta sauce and pour into casserole dish. Stir in pasta
- bake 30 minutes
- remove from oeven and top with cheese
- bake an additional 10 minutes



It's so easy and so delicious. I think it's one of Ronan's favourite foods.

We went to the park today and Ronan has decided to be a dare devil and climb up the ladders on the play structure instead of the stairs. I didn't get a picture because I was too busy hovering over him making sure he didn't fall!

Today we are making gingerbread cookies and chili. Kevin's mum is coming over for dinner and she hasn't seen Ronan in a while, so it should be fun!

A Busy Week

We have had a pretty busy week around here. On Tuesday, I went to Stratford so I could take my road test to get my G license and I passed! Yay for no more road tests and cheaper insurance! Kevin started his new job this week, so he couldn't come with us, so my dad came over to the drive test centre and watched the boys for me. Afterwards, we went for dinner to celebrate and Jonny met up with us for dessert. Ronan was very good about sharing his ice cream. He would take a giant spooonful for himself, and then just dip the tip of the spoon in for Jonny.

Thursday night, I went to a workshop put on by Childreach called Positive and Practical Discipline Strategies. It was a free seminar, and let's just say, you get what you pay for. There wasn't much talk about discipline strategies, she just talked the whole time about things that were pretty obvious, like not expecting too much of the child and to use age appropriate discipline,. but didn't really elaborate on what that would be. She didn't really talk to much about discipline strategies, mostly about her experiences as a parent.

She gave us a few handouts about what to expect at different age groups and how to deal with tantrums (again, it had obvious tips like don't give in, etc). All the handouts seemed to be photocopied from "The No-Cry Discipline Solution" so i might take that book out from the library and see if there is anything uselful. We haven't really had to discipline Ronan too much as he is a really good kid, but he's 2, and with 2, comes tantrums. They aren't very often, but I would like to know some strategies to avoid them at all.

I have been busy getting ready for the London Moms Fall Sale thats tomorrow at Lucas Secondary school here in London from 8-11am. I have a table set up with my Lisa May Designs stuff, and even though people are there looking for good deals on used stuff, they know that there are also business tables there, so hopefully they check us out. I did the sale last year, but didn't sell a single thing, so I'm hoping this year goes better. I have also been accepted into a Christmas craft show in November, but I will give you more deatils as I get them.

A New Job

Not much to report here. Kevin got a new job and started today. He was working at Roots, but he wasn't really enjoying retail anymore. The long hours for little pay and always having to work weekends were starting to get to him, so he was looking for something else. This summer, he played baseball with some old friends of his, and the team was sponsored by a company called Hose Headquarters, which also is partly owned by a guy on the team. Kevin mentioned that he was looking for a new job, and within a week, they had one for him!

Yesterday we went to Kevin's mum's house for dinner to celebrate his brother's birthday. We got to see James and Kennedy and Kevin's grandparents and Aunt Anne! What a great day.

The boys are getting pretty big. Keegan is loving eating solids and is so interested in the world around him.

I am part of a website for local moms called http://www.londonmoms.ca/ and they do product and service reviews for local businesses and yesterday they posted a review for Lisa May Designs. It was such a good review and will hopefully boost sales for the sale I am doing this coming weekend!

Off to clean and fold laundry on this rainy day!

Hearing Test

We took Ronan to do his hearing test today. The Dr said he is pretty sure his hearing is fine and he has no fluids or blockages in his ears. He can hear at all different decibels. Good news, right? Maybe. Apparently, he wants us to go to the university for further testing because he although he can tell that Ronan can hear, he can't tell if he is hearing clearly or muffled because he can't respond (because he can't talk, which is why we are there...) He says that the university has more specialized equipment and would be better able to tell. I'm confused, because we went to a place called Hearing London, which is a hearing clinic and only does hearing stuff, so how come they don't have this equipment.

Whatever. I am going to talk to the pediatrician and see what she says

Also, Keegan doesn't like sweet potatoes.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is mine and Kevin's wedding anniversary. I can't believe its been three years since that beautiful day. The weather was perfect, the venue was perfect, and overall it was a perfect day.


We didn't do anything special today, except we had Ronan's appointment with the pediatrician. She thinks he is fine and that his speech is only a little delayed. By 21/2, he should have around 50 words and be putting them together to form 2-3 word sentences. He has 36 words and no sentences. She is sending him for a hearing assessment to be on the safe side. From there, we will go to Tyke Talk for speech assessment and therapy. I'm happy with that, because now 2 doctors (our family dr and a pediatrician) have said they think he's fine.

Other than that, not much to report. Keegan is sitting up and loves carrots!