Okay, so it's Meatless Monday on a Thursday.

With zucchini and tomatoes being in abundance at this time of the year, I had to try to figure out what to do with all those veggies!

I was going to make Ratatouille, but decided on making a Frittata.
I was going to post a photo of the Frittata I made, but it was devoured before I had a chance to find the camera. You'll have to settle for a photo found via Google Images. Photo borrowed from here.

INGREDIENTS

1 onion, sliced
garlic, minced
oil
1 Tomato, diced (I used 2 tomatoes)
1 zucchini, halved and sliced
2 or 3 potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly
Salt and pepper to taste
6 eggs
parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

In large nonstick ovenproof skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook until lightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add potatoes; cook until potatoes are golden.

In small bowl, beat eggs with salt and zucchini. Add to skillet; reduce heat to medium and cook until bottom is brown and crusty, about 5 minutes, occasionally lifting edges so uncooked eggs can flow underneath. (If skillet handle is not ovenproof, wrap in foil.)

Add tomatoes on top. Broil until eggs are set- 1 to 2 minutes. Cut into wedges to serve. Garnish with parsley.

******************************************************************************

I served the Frittata with a salad. Yes, that is a lot of veggies! The Student, Hubby, Little One and I enjoyed it immensely.

At the end of the meal, my husband (the beef farmer) said, "That was great Honey. It would have been even more perfect with meat!"

Will my husband survive Meatless Mondays? We shall soon find out.

...that two years ago (on September 16th, 2008) I was put on complete bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy?

I remember it clearly. My wonderful cousin (who was my Maid of Honour at our wedding in 2006) was throwing me a baby shower. It was supposed to be a joyous event. It was something I was looking forward to.

On our way to Montreal, where the baby shower was being held, Hubby and I had to make a pit stop in Sudbury for my OB-GYN visit. That was the day that began my very long period of bed rest and the day that made me realize that things weren't as good as I thought they were. Until then, I thought everything was fine with my pregnancy. I knew the doctor said I was already dilating at 5 months into my pregnancy, but it didn't really hit me that this was all true. Maybe I was in denial. Maybe I was just being overly hopeful that everything would be fine. I was barely 24 weeks pregnant! That was just over halfway into my pregnancy.

Our vehicle was packed for our trip to Montreal. I happily went to our OB-GYN's office to get checked out. Life was good. I was happy, pregnant, and on my way to my baby shower and to see all the people I love.

Wrong. After checking me out, the doctor said he was sending me back to the Island. Things were worse than he thought and my cervix was dilating at an alarmingly fast rate. He said my cervix was paper thin when at this point in my pregnancy it should have been almost inpenetrable. The doctor's orders were for me to go home, be on my back at all times, except for bathroom breaks. No sitting (as it would put too much pressure on the cervix). No standing. No anything. Family members and friends were to do EVERYTHING for me. That included all cooking, housework, chores. I wasn't allowed to do ANYTHING.

Sounds good, right? Wrong. It was a nightmare. I'm the type of person who always has to be doing something. For the remainder of my very brief pregnancy, I'd be confined to a bed in the living room and having everyone cater to me. This was not how I envisioned my pregnancy to be. Who would have known that this strict bed rest would eventually end up becoming strict hospital bed rest at the hospital in Sudbury within the next few weeks and then ultimately strict hospital bed rest at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto?

This was two years ago. Hard to believe this all happened!

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* Little One screaming her head off trying to open her Rubbermaid container of Crayola Crayons and markers instead of just bringing it to me so I can open it for her! Oh, the drama!

* Hubby doing this...

* and this...Gotta love it when people leave the empty milk bags in the fridge and don't replace them...or leave just a little bit (errrmm...a few drops!) of milk in the bags!

* Little One self-weaned at 16 months and at 21 months, she has started putting her hand down my shirt, licking her fingers, and saying "Mmmmmmmm!!!! TASTY!!!!" (followed by a huge smile and a hearty laugh). What on earth? I have nooooo idea where she got that from! What a crazy kid!

* Little One not liking sugar or sweets! We don't give her sugar, sweets, junk food, or processed food (we try to limit those things in our house). When The Student got her this really adorable Hello Kitty marshmallow pop, we thought Little One would devour it. She licked it, made a disgusted face, and pushed it away. That's my girl! Gotta love a kid who doesn't like candy!!! :) I was secretly happy that she didn't want to have anything to do with it!

Not only do Crayola products cultivate the imagination and creativity in kids, but they provide many other developmental tools little ones need.

Crayola products help with fine motor skills. Crayola products also help children learn their colours. They help with numbers . We're teaching Little One how to count her crayons and markers when it's clean up time. Yes, I'm anal like that. I make my 21 month old count her art supplies as she puts them back into her Rubbermaid container to make sure she hasn't lost or misplaced any of them. Granted, she can only count up to five right now.
Crayola crayons keep Little One busy for HOURS! Hooray!

These are the Crayola products we have at our home:

CRAYOLA TWISTABLES
These are quite possibly Little One's favourite of all the Crayola products. She sees Mom and Dad with pens and thinks these are just like grown-up pens. Perhaps it's not too wise for a Mom to let her 21 month old play with coloured pencils. Well, the good thing is that they're not sharp. The clear plastic barrels keep them from breaking and when they get worn down, you just twist them and keep on colouring!

CRAYOLA PIP-SQUEAKS
Small in size, but big in colour!
CRAYOLA Pip-Squeaks are the perfect size for little hands. They're easy to hold and the ink is washable and specially formulated for little ones. Our Little One loves the variety in colours. She loves mixing them together to make new colours. It's every budding artist's dream come true. Okay, every little kid's (and big kid's) dream come true!

CRAYOLA WASHABLE TRIANGULAR CRAYONS
These were the first of the Crayola products that I ever bought for Little One. She only started using them two weeks ago, and now she's using the crayons, pencils and markers! Okay, I have to confess that the main reason I never let Little One use art supplies was because I didn't think she was ready. Oh, okay. I didn't think she'd be able to use them without making a sheer mess out of herself, my furniture, and everything else.

Who was I to hold her back though? She clearly LOVES colouring and "drawing". LOVES IT. I'm not worried about her making toooooo much mess with Crayola though. I know everything is washable.

The triangular crayons were perfect for her introduction to writing and colouring implements. Because of the way they are shaped and designed, they are super easy for pudgy little toddler hands to hold.

The thing I love best about Crayola? They're WASHABLE!!! :) Thank you, Crayola! Thanks for being educational, fun, and...WASHABLE!! Note the lovely tattoo my toddler is sporting on her arm? :)

Sometimes I think of Little One's first 70 days of life and all the memories of life in the NICU return. Though each day was a roller coaster ride, her life in the NICU was nothing compared to the experiences of some other precious babes and their parents.

Many of you know that because of our experience with Little One being in the NICU, we will always support Mount Sinai Hospital and Sick Kids Hospital, and we will always be grateful to the team of medical experts who took care of Little One.

When we heard of Bennett-Chadlen-Roy's story, it hit close to home. Though his story was quite different from ours, it really had an impact on us. We knew we had to help out in some way and help parents with babies in the NICU.

It meant a lot to us to be able to befriend and help out Bennett's Mom, Melissa Dawn Roy in her latest project (the Nimkee Blessings Benefit Concert). What amazing work she is doing in helping other parents and families with babies in the NICU.

Check out her blog and see how you can help.

P.S. Thanks for the shout out, Melissa!

I'm the Mom of a girlie girl! Check it out here.

P.S. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am not a girlie girl and that pink is my least favourite colour. Ahem! Many of you know that Cerulean is my fave colour! I have to say that since I gave birth to Little One, pink has started to grow on me. She just looks so cute in pink!

Hubby and I agree on most things when it comes to parenting our sweet Little One. Well, except when it comes to all things girlie.

He wasn't too keen on me getting Little One's ears pierced when she was 11 months old (8 months corrected). He wasn't too thrilled when he saw her adorable fingernails adorned with Piggy Paint either.

He's a farm boy and isn't too keen on anything girlie. However, I suspect this is all just a front and he really does like having a little princess with all her frou-frou, pink, girlie girl things.

I have to say that I just love, love, LOVE Piggy Paint!Why? Well, not only is it fun for Little One to get all decked out and prettied up, but Piggy Paint is safe to use on wee ones! That's right, folks! Natural, non-toxic nail polish that is as "Natural as Mud"! How awesome is that!?It's hypoallergenic, eco-friendly, and low in odour!

Dum dee dum dum dum...

We've got a winner!

Seriously, people. Since this reviews blog is new, the entries for the contests are still relatively low. This is good news for you, because it means that your chances of winning are pretty high!

Seriously. With only 5 entries for the Butt Paste contest, your chances were 1 in 5! :)

We are happy to announce that the winner of the Butt Paste contest is...

Catherine!

Anonymous said...

I would take some butt paste to try out. Little one due Feb 11th, and being a first time mom im already on the look out for good products that work!
Thanks Catherine-Spring Bay
cs_red13@hotmail.com

September 8, 2010 9:57 PM

Catherine, please contact us with your mailing info so we can get your prize out to you :)

...because I think she is just too cute for words!
Here's Little One at my cousin's wedding the other weekend. Hubby, Little One and I were in the wedding party.
She had a blast and danced the night away.

Yes, I let my 21 month old daughter dance until midnight. I know. What mother lets her toddler stay up until midnight?! That's right. I did. It's not like we let her stay up that late every night. It was one night and she had so much fun. Plus, I know that babies need routine and structure, but they also need to know that sometimes there's a change in their routine and structure. She had a blast and she slept really well after all that dancing!
Photos courtesy of the wonderful, talented, and gorgeous Temara Brown.

These photos at the ceremony were taken by my uncle. Yes, Little One was a flower girl.

With a soother.

On a tricycle.

I'm well aware that the last two sentences weren't really sentences. They're missing a verb. Speaking of grammar, week one of teaching ESL again has gone well. I forgot how exciting it is to be teaching gerunds, infinitives, adverbial clauses, and conditionals! This said, having to do lesson planning, correct homework, teach, rush home to cook supper, wash dishes, take care of a toddler, bathe her, get her ready for bed, write articles for various companies, and do everything else (while Hubby is out working on the farm until 10PM every night) is really, really exhausting.

Did I mention that Little One is now starting to challenge her Mama? She's not horrible. She's just a bit...headstrong stubborn strong-willed challenging. Her personality is coming out and she's so very funny. She's an entertainer, and loves making people laugh. She likes to show people that she knows her body parts (eyes, nose, mouth, ears, tongue, teeth, hands, fingers, feet and toes). She tells you that shoes go on your feet. She can let you know what she wants even if she can't articulate her wants verbally yet. The only thing is that she is so gosh darn persistent when she wants something. She's very independent too.

I have a feeling I'm in for lots of excitement with this one. Okay, I have a feeling I'll have my hands full. *sigh*