Hippie Genetics

My parents were (and are hippies). Ok. Those of you who know them would argue this to be far from true. And I see your point. There is no Woodstock attending, Birkenstocks wearing, long hair and daisies or tie dye. There is a lot of smartly tailored clothing, strong family values, hard working mentality. None of these things scream hippy- I know that. And in all honesty, the grow lights in the basement of my parent's house are to grow... are you ready for this... geraniums. Shocking. You'd think with that green thumb of his and those grow lights he could come up with a more lucrative crop. Nope. Geraniums.

But I'm telling you, my parents were crunchy granola before being organic or environmentally aware was trendy. I was lucky enough to grow up with a father who was more or less a subsistence farmer. Our house was on a quarter acre and my dad's garden was, and is, enormous. Everything we ate from spring (radicchio was always up first) to winter (squash and potatoes keep well in a cold room) came from my dad's organic garden. And while he was busy pulling weeds and planting things, my mum was in the kitchen cooking them, and preserving them for the winter. She still bakes her own bread (12 loaves at a time), and cans tomatoes, peaches, pears and cherries. There is of course lots of pasta sauce and grilled eggplant (what is an Italian without those things?), and tons of delicious baking. I would be willing to bet that my parents make less waste than 95% of the population. Almost nothing goes in the garbage. My mother is a militant recycler (Lord have mercy on your soul should you forget to put a toilet paper roll in the recycling and... gulp... throw it in the garbage. She's sort of the female equivalent of Ed Begley Jr. Although, to be fair, the toaster does not require a half hour of pedalling on a bicycle to operate). My dad has the biggest compost heap which totally eliminates the need for fertilizer. They built their own house with the help of my beloved and very missed Nonno Giovanni. They are very kind to the planet, they are very organic, they are indeed hippies. Just without the clothes. It is so cool.

No doubt this is where my love for gardening and cooking and sewing comes from. Living in the city, an enormous garden isn't possible- I do what I can with the space and time I have. And my mum is in my brain every time I use a paper towel instead of a rag. "Why waste Emmanuella?". Good question. Keeps me thinking all the time.

I think the hippy fashion sensibility skipped a generation and landed on me. I love me my Birkenstocks. LOVE them. And here's another thing I love- tie dye. Not to wear, so much as to do. It is such fun- I love a project with that kind of instant gratification.  There is something so terribly exciting about pulling a waded mass of elastics out of dye, removing the ties and seeing what you ended up with. Such fun. I've tie dyed all kinds of things over the years: socks, underwear, sheets. My friend Lisa and I had a full out tie dye party in university (oh the hysterical pictures I have somewhere of her modelling her projects). But my favourite projects have been for my boys at Halloween. This was an idea I first saw in Family Fun Magazine. I loved it so much I made countless of these things- for friends, and at least on a year for my boys.

Cute right? The circles were created by elastic bands, and I used el-cheapo shirts and Tintex dye. The facial features are done with fabric paint, and the leaf and stem I improvised with appliqued fabric. One thing I did find with these is that the fabric paint sticks to itself with the heat of the dryer, so better to let them dry on a rack.

I finally reached saturation with this project. Seriously, how many of these things can one justify making before being admitted for analysis? It's overkill. Plus, I got a fancy schmancy front loading washing machine. I can't bring myself to put fabric dye in the cycle.

But the hamster is always running. Three thing happened today. 1) I was feeling Halloweeny 2) I came across a new kind of fabric dye that isn't used in a washing machine and 3) I got an idea other than a pumpkin. !!!! Wheeee! Tie dye it is. I ran to Walmart for T-shirts.

Here's what you need for this year's version:

• black fabric dye (I used Dylon)
• back and white fabric paint
• elastics
• 100% cotton shirts
• black acrylic paint
• Gemtac glue
• google eyes

1. Using elastic bands, tightly tie up the shirts to create the shapes. Figure out where you'd like the targets and place the elastics accordingly.

 2. Prepare the dye as directed on the package. Submerge and stir as directed also. Rinse out in cold water. I like to throw mine in the washer with vinegar to help the colour set. Tumble dry and iron. And no, that is not my type A talking (well, not only my type A talking), but you want the shirt nice and flat for painting.

 3. Lay the shirts out flat, and put several layers of newspaper, or cardboard inside so the paint does not seep through.

4. Draw on your arachnid friend. I used acrylic paint for the body (Brain wave! Does not stick to itself like fabric paint, and does not wash out). Fabric paint pens were used for the legs, mouth and eyebrows.  Use the Gemtac to adhere the googly eyes. Let dry. The glue bottle says it is washable after 24 hrs. We'll see if it survives the wash. I have my doubts. May need to come up with a plan B.






Ta-Dah!!! The 2012 edition of the tie-dyed Halloween shirt. I love them, and I suspect the boys will too

Ok. Go on. Listen to Bob Dylan (the answers are indeed blowing in the wind), put on your Birkenstocks, rub patchouli on something, burn some incense and tie dye something! You won't be sorry you did!

Happy Trails! And Peace Out. 

Crafty keeners

My kids like to craft. A dream come true right? Well, theoretically. In theory, I love this. But in reality, I  (big confession coming), don't really like crafting with my kids. Here's how it usually goes:
Me:  "Hey guys we're going to make a craft!"
The Dynamic Duo: "YAY!!!"
Me: "Come sit down at the table.... no, don't touch the paint quite yet Boy Wonder..."
Boy Wonder: "How come?"
Me: "Because I have to explain what we need to do with it first"
Batman: "Can I use brown? Please?"
Boy Wonder: "How come?"
Me: "Because if I don't, you won't know what to do. Let's put on our paint shirts"
Boy Wonder: "How come?"
Batman: "But mum, I want a brown paint shirt"
Me: "Well, Batman I have red or black shirts, and Boy Wonder, because otherwise you'll ruin your clothes"
Boy Wonder: "How come?".
This conversation takes about 3 seconds. It is like being stoned to death with pickles. Not painful, but absolutely persistent, and completely aggravating. And that is before the project begins.

Suffice it to say any project I do with them needs to meet the following requirements:
1) It has to be easy enough for my 3 year old Boy Wonder to attempt, and my 5 year old to pretty much manage on his own entirely
2) It must not require any significant exactitude.
3) It must be easily accomplished in about 30 minutes or less.

When I saw something similar on Pinterest (and my oh my how I love Pinterest), I loved the idea right away. It works for any season. The Pinterest craft was sponge painting on an art canvas, on top of a masking taped snowflake shape. I will be repeating this craft during winter time. But for now, I adapted it to our current season.




First I found a maple leaf clip art graphic and cut it out of a cereal box.

We taped it to the art canvas and then...

 Using acrylic paint and a kitchen sponge, went bananas painting. We used red, orange, yellow and green.

Some of us were more methodical than others. It is amazing how different two different litters from the same sow can be....

Voila! Hung in a place of honour immediately visible when you enter the house. 

In the end, I've decided that I do like crafting with my kids. It is fun to create things, and watch them work. As long as you can fend off the pickles...

Happy trails!

School. Literally.

It is Sept 1st. Can you believe that?? Sept. 1st! Good grief. I'm not going to go on and on for this one. I just wanted to post some pics of my classroom. Mainly so I can pin my own bulletin board ideas for later use- heavens knows I don't remember things most of the time.
I spent two full days getting myself organized for next week. Here's what was accomplished.

Already?

Yesterday we returned home from our last trip of the summer. When we got home we headed outside after dinner, the kids anxious to play with their neighbourhood friends. As we sat there visiting with our neighbours in the cul de sac, it occurred to me just how chilly it was. It smacked of fall. Where has time gone?

Unbelievably enough,  next week we begin the school year, being teachers, with a couple of days of work. Sigh. I know work is necessary for survival, but really, it does get in the way of a lot doesn't it?Certainly it doesn't lend itself well to maintaining my pastimes this summer: cooking lots of new things, constant play dates and trips to the beach, reading stacks of books as high as my head, gardening. This summer was lovely. I think I'd love retirement.

Last night I also picked through my garden, and pulled out MONSTER carrots. Lots of monster carrots. See, I've never had much luck growing carrots, so this year I planted a ton, in hopes some of them would grow. And grow they did. This begs the question, what does one do with a bazillion monster carrots?

Well, add together impending busy schedules, and monster carrots, and the sum is clear: soup. I grew up hating soup. HATING soup. You know the kid that takes a mouthful of food, then runs to the bathroom claiming a desperate need to pee, then spitting the food into the toilet for a good flush? That was me with soup. I still am not a huge fan of soup, but I'm certainly more amenable to it than I was in my youth. These days I'm happy to make my own brodo, chicken soup and pureed veggie soups. They are handy to have in the freezer and really, when eaten with a big thick piece of lovely bread and butter, are delicious.

Where else does one go for inspiration these days than Pinterest? Want a million recipes for soup- there's your source. There I found this one which looked great:
http://joythebaker.com/2011/04/carrot-apple-ginger-soup/

This became my guide for what went in the pot. It turns out I'm more like my mum than I realized, and in went the kitchen sink. You have to use things up somehow right?

Here's what I came up with:


Ingredients: (serves a lot. When I make soup, I make soup. There will be enough to freeze at least 4 freezer portions to serve 2 people). 
-6 large carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
-2 small yams, peeled and chopped into chunks
-1 medium onion
-3 large cloves of garlic, grated
-4 inches of fresh ginger root, grated
-Optional: beets (I used 1 small red beet, and 2 medium golden beets)
- 3 apples, peeled and chopped into chunks
- Vegetable broth (I used 2 tetra packs 900ml each)
-cinnamon to taste
-nutmeg to taste
-salt and pepper to taste
1. In a large pot, heat 3 or 4 tbsp of olive oil. 
2. Saute onion until translucent and fragrant. (About 3 minutes)
3. Add garlic and ginger. Saute another 4 minutes or so. 
4. Add carrots, yams, beets and saute about 5 or 6 minutes. 
5. Add broth and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for another 10-15 minutes, until veggies are soft. 
6. Transfer the soup into the blender and puree in batches. 
7. Return the pureed soup to the pot and add the spices, tasting as you go. 

Because I was making this with the thought of feeding it to an upcoming guest who is vegan, I opted not to saute the onion and veggies in butter, but used olive oil instead. I like butter though, as it is creamy and smooth. Also, I didn't use chicken broth, which I would have most likely otherwise. 

Using yams makes it very creamy and smooth. The apples lend sweetness to the soup, but not distinct apple taste. The beets are nice for colour, but don't taste at all, which makes it possible to feed it to my dad (who does not have the beet gene). It is delicious. It would go down nicely with a grilled cheese sandwich with prosciutto and pickle in the middle (not to toot my own horn but, I make the best grilled cheese sandwiches in the world- ask my sister). There is something that makes the things you grow yourself taste better than that which comes from the grocery store. Those carrots are deeeeelicious, and the beets are so tender and yummy too. Try it out, you won't be sorry. 



Happy trails!

It never stops...

What never stops, you ask? Well, let's put it this way. It is early August. As a teacher, my reaction to back-to-school flyers and commercials is palpable. My stomach turns, my eye starts to twitch, and worst of all that vein in my temple starts to pulsate. Don't get me wrong, I really love my career, but geez... can't we all just relax for the full two months?

And sadly, as much as this is the case, I'm guilty of the perpetual moving hamster wheel. What I mean is, I'm always thinking about school. I was beyond thrilled in July when on holidays at the lake, I went into a new dollar store and scored some super cool new classroom decor for a steal. I was really excited when a box arrived on my doorstep from Long & McQuade containing all the music my students will perform this year.  This morning I spent a good couple of hours planning and prepping a new fun bulletin board for back to school (I'm thinking a huge painted Mr. Incredible with comic book star bursts saying "Music is Incredible"... got to find ways to appeal to boys particularly- what better way than through a superhero?) This is all proof positive that teaching is not a 10 month of the year, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. job. I challenge anyone who thinks that way to come hang out for a while.

I have to admit, the artistic/creative part of teaching elementary music (make no mistake, I'm a high school teacher by training and find it so much more instinctual for me), is one of the things I love the most. I've discovered how visual smaller children are. They respond so well to bright, beautiful spaces. I've learned they are more likely to take risks in an inviting space. I've learned that they love those things which are tactile and manipulatable. All these tools are not simply a matter of interior design, they really do go a long way to ensure that their learning is play based. The kids tend to forget that they are learning. Actually, when it comes right down to it, I'm sure high school students would respond well to this also, I just never seemed to have time for such things like that between festivals and musicals and concerts and trips and... and... and...

This week I've also devoted at least 10 hours crafting for school purposes. My friend Lisa came over for Stitch n' Bitch night. It had been a stretch of rather hot weather. You know, the kind of weather that is suffocating, and thus zaps you of all reasonable intelligence and energy.  I had intended to get cracking on a rather wonderful lunch bucket for the boys. The pattern is a beauty, and seemed simple enough. But when Lisa arrived and I set out to do it, I stood there staring at the instructions with a glazed over look on my face. They may as well have been instructions for assembling Ikea furniture. I could not for the life of me figure out what to do. Sometimes you got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run. I walked away. But, one cannot waste an ever precious stitch n' bitch night, productivity was still required. I pulled out my enormous stash of felt and got working on a craft that is brainless, but time consuming.

One thing I've loved using with my kindergarten and grade 1 students has been felt songs and stories. They love them. I have no idea why more so than anything else, but they all delight in these things.  I had my dad make me a large framed board, Ethan painted it for me and I used spray adhesive to cover one side with craft felt (yep, it is a family sweat shop that I run). Periodically I will cut out the pieces for a song or story that I use in class. My collection was small: I had done Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin, Five Green and Speckled Frogs (Raffi's version), Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate (Raffi again) and Must be Santa (good old Raffi gets a lot of love in my classroom).

Felt stories are super easy to make. Simply cut the shapes out of felt and you're done. And don't get me wrong, everyone knows I'm not artistic. With the world at our fingertips it is easy to find clip art and graphics that are easy to replicate. I like to add the details with fabric paint, and sometimes googly eyes or pom poms. Over the last few days I've added 5 felt sets to my small collection. I like to use felt bits for cumulative songs or stories (you know, ones that have lists in them ie... ho ho ho, cherry nose, cap on head, suit that's red, special night, beard that's white) or counting songs where you sing the same thing several times (ie. Five little... any number of things from pumpkins to frogs, to monkeys).

True to form, my own kids loved the sets I made. If I was a nice mum, I'd make a board for at home and some sets here, they'd love that. But it is time consuming, and I'm nothing if not too lazy to do the same thing twice. But one could very easily make a good at home version. An Ikea poster picture frame without glass would work nicely. Or a travel version on a small cookie sheet (oooh.... and that way one side could be a magnet board too!) would be fun too. If you have small kids, guaranteed this would be a hit. Or what a fun birthday gift- with the pieces in a fun little drawstring bag?! Endless possibilities with this project.

Here's the final tally of my work this week:
1) Chicka chicka Boom Boom (by Bill Martin)














2) Slippery fish (Charlotte Diamond)

3) There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly














4) A Hunting We Will Go













5) Nativity set (to be used with Raffi's There Was a Little Baby)


One website I've come across which had a bazillion template sets was www.makinglearningfun.com.

And after 10 hours of cutting and painting, suffice it to say I won't be doing any more felt stuff for a while. Albeit satisfying and cute, it is rather mind numbing too.

September is inevitable isn't it. And there is something to be said for routine. But tomorrow, I'm going to read a book.

Happy trails!

PS: My garlic is ready- woohoo! I do so love to garden...

This could work, maybe... just maybe!!

So those of you who've been here before will be well aware of the fact that I'm a hopeless failure at producing kids who eat well. My kids are energetic, smart, articulate, funny, gentle, playful and a myriad other fine qualities, but they STINK at eating. And by stink I mean, one in particular has the horrendously powerful weapon of the ability to woof his cookies on demand when the food is not pleasing to him. He's indiscriminating too... he is equally resistant to the normal sweets a child loves (ie. jelly beans, gummy bears, popsicles, juice) as he is to the stuff I want him to eat (fruit, veggies etc.) The other child is pretty decent when it comes to food, but has learned from his brother that it is ok to pull Ghandi-style hunger strikes, making the most dedicated and well versed Satyagraha practitioner look like a hack. It is exasperating in all kinds of ways, and I've tried so many tactics from hiding nutrition, to making dishes themselves special, yelling, screaming, crying, begging. Aside from the first on that list, which is insanely labour intensive, all tactics have been more or less, completely ineffectual. The doctor's advice was to wave my white flag and serve peanut butter at every meal if that is what they want. Eventually, she says, they'll get over it and want something more. Right. Thanks so much for that gem.

We just returned from holidays, where I experienced the most embarrassing event. One son, who shall remain nameless, would of course never eat anything when we were out for dinner, so as usual I didn't force the issue, and brought a hot dog with us as I always do so as to avoid ugly behaviour. Well, this time differed from other family dinners as there was a wee girl of 5 years who saw him eating the hot dog, and she pulled a fuss, refusing to eat a beautiful meal that she normally would have gobbled down, until her mum made her a hot dog too. I've lost count as to how many times I apologized for this, but it was high for sure. My ears still get red with embarrassment now. And then the frustration starts. Why??? Why the heck won't they eat?

So, I've stewed (those who know me know that I am nothing if not a total stewer), for days now, and have come up with a new tactic. The one I've avoided until now because all the "experts" and books tell you NO WAY. It is a simple principle, age old in fact. Bribery. Don't judge me... would you go to work if you weren't being paid to? Let's be honest.

This morning in a last ditch attempt to reduce the number of different foods I cook at any one given meal, I printed out a chart with 35 squares on it. Here's the deal: each time the boys eat the meal that we eat, or at least a selected portion thereof, they get a sticker in a box. 35 stickers, and the prize is $20 and a trip to a toy store. GASP. Yes, I said $20 and a trip to a toy store. Those of you with kids who eat well, go ahead and click your tongues in disgust. I'd be doing the same thing too. If I hadn't tried everything already, I wouldn't be reducing myself to this.

Today's menu for us was chop salads, with sliced chicken breast, blueberries, strawberries, celery and avocado. I was successfully able to get one child to eat one slice of cucumber (which was an enormous accomplishment if you know the child), applesauce mixed with vanilla yogurt (more fruit there than he's eaten in 2 months), and slice chicken breast (I know... not in nugget form- amazing right?). The other child ate the same chicken, his weight in blueberries and a good two inches of cucumber. This is what is classified as a successful meal in our house. So successful in fact, that I'm blogging about it. And what's more, the most resistant of children said to his brother "Chicken is good to eat, you should try it". No vomit invited. I couldn't be more proud if he climbed Kilimanjaro.

I've also finally discovered the power of desserts. One book I read and took as gospel years ago now, said always served dessert with the rest of the meal. You shouldn't teach kids that some food is more valuable than others, otherwise they'll value dessert over healthy choices. I just woke up. Some food is more valuable. That's why you have to eat it FIRST. Duh. The boys ate quickly when presented with three possibilities for dessert: chocolate soy ice cream, pudding or a rice krispie square. Anyone who knows my kids has seen how long it takes for one in particular to eat anything, usually FOREVER, but this meal was one hour top to tall, and chock a block with things that he's normally rejected with more fervour than you can imagine. I'm a happy proud mama...

Happy trails!

PS: I'm considering bribery as a potty training tactic too... sigh... one day these problems will seem insignificant right?

Stitch n' Bitch...

In university I spent absolutely countless hours hanging out with my girlfriends. When I moved here to work after graduation, that came to a screeching stop. Funny how life gets in the way of friendships... you know, marriage, work, kids. There hardly seems a lot of time for socializing for the sake of itself. So now, that my kids are getting older, and that we've been living here longer, it is nice to finally begin to reclaim a part of that former existence and begin to just socialize with people again.

My friend Lisa and I have recently begun doing the occasional, and unashamedly luxurious, girls night out. Our families (kids and husbands included) often get together for brunch or dinner or the like, but lately, once in a blue moon Lisa and I will enlist the husbands to stay with the kids, and sneak out the door when no one is looking for a meal together, which, by the virtue of not requiring us to cut one another's meat or tell anyone to sit still, is both relaxing and fun.

So imagine my complete delight when Lisa decided to buy a sewing machine!!! This opened up a new and wonderful girl-only opportunity.... stitch n' bitch. Yes, we could take over my basement, set up our respective work stations, and sew until the wee hours whilst bitching about the woes of potty training, or early mornings, or the terrible selection at Fabricland, or the price of rice in China, or whatever really. She's had her machine for two weeks, and the first meeting of the official Stitch n' Bitch society was called to order last night. I know what you are thinking, can you really call it a society if it only includes two people. We thought of that. We enlisted my sister Renata to join us. Three people makes a quorum right?


Each of us had our own projects. Lisa was working on making a hooded towel dress for her adorable daughters, Renata (who is a Girl Guide leader) was working on a big camp poncho for herself on which she can sew on the copious amounts of crests she has, and me, I was sewing a couple mail organizers for my kitchen in an attempt to hide all the ugly mail (bills, cheques, coupons) that currently clutter my kitchen. Here's what it looked like. Please don't judge my housekeeping based on these photos.


Last night's big discovery was that not only is S&B fun, it is also useful. When you are stumped as to exactly what shape the hood of your project should be as there is insufficient instructions on that pinterest tutorial, there are two other brains to help out. When you are too lazy to measure for the correct placement of the pocket on your divider, you can whine until your sister offers to do it for you, there is someone to lend a hand. Plus it was fun. Very fun. We've decided that the next S&B night needs snacks and possibly margaritas.  Although, not sure how straight my seams will be with one or two of those under my belt.

Here are the final products:

These are my mail organizers. They work nicely in my kitchen and were really easy. I really wished I had my mum's fancy schmancy embroidery machine to make labels for it.  Check out the pattern here:

Mail Organizer by Ashley Johnston

Here is Renata modelling her campfire poncho. It's cute. She's cute. Look at that hat... get her smoking at least 2 packs a day and soon she will be just like Effie Jones (only my mum will get that reference but suffice it to say that Effie was a guide leader we both had at camp who was the camp cook- a tough old bird who looked like a dried apple, was rough around the edges, but had a huge heart.). Well, ok, it might be a while before you get there Ren. You've got some time.

Next up is Lisa's little hooded towel dress beach cover up. We were concerned about the head hole being too tiny, so we called in the the adult with the smallest melon in the world, Ethan. He's a good sport. What can I say. Didn't fit him. The instructions were think on this one, and I'm so impressed by the fact Lisa was able to do it from what she had. PS: Terry towel is messy. Haha! Really messy.

And we called it quits at midnight. Successful? I think so!

Happy trails- hope you are enjoying some sunshine!