Friday, December 31, 2010

No one puts Baby in a Corner

 No one puts baby in a corner.  Except baby herself of course.  If the house suddenly becomes quiet and I realize I haven't see Ellie in a few minutes I know there is trouble.  She is usually in the closet.  She takes whatever makeup she can find and runs to put as much on her face and the walls as she can.  She has started to hide to poop, hide to eat full packages of gum (paper and all) or to play her siblings DS generally anything she knows is bad. 

She obviously knows she is doing things that she is doing something she is not supposed to be doing.   My escape is the tub. I tip toe quietly up the stairs trying to avoid doing supper dishes and try not to tip off the baby I am going to the tub or she will want to join me.  It usuall lasts about 10 minutes before there is a knock at the door, "Mommmmmy, I tub too." 

Maybe I should try hiding behind the TV, but I wouldn't take gum.  You would find me back there with a bottle of wine, a Carmel Machiatto and a stash of chocolate.  The ironic thing is those are all my indulgences and just like lipstick and full packs of gum I know I shouldn't be doing it but choose to anyway.  I have a hiatus hernia that I have inherited from my Grandma and I really need to lose weight and stop drinking coffee and wine!  So if you are looking for me and the house is too quiet just check behind the TV!  Good thing its a wide screen!


What would you be doing behind your TV if you could escape your life for an hour?  Read a book? Have a nap?

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Ace Rokochy


Nine years ago I was living in Gravelbourg the mother of one child.  A five year old little boy who had went half days to kindergarden.  We would hold hands and I would walk him the block and a half to the school where he would give me a kiss goodbye in the bootroom.  I was counting the days until our family would be four.  I thought about the iconic Credit Union sign where my husband worked with the mom and dad holding hands with the little boy and little girl.  I was not so secretly hoping that I would be having a little girl as I bought pink sleepers and dressed and spent nine months cross stitching a girly wall hanging for her room.

I can hardly remember nine years ago what I was doing to occupy my time with only one child who was in school half days.  I was a member of a hard core bowling league.  I commented to Pat that there weren't really any ladies my age there (my team captain celebrated her 80th birthday that year and then soon after quit the team after a hip replacement.  I knew we shouldn't have given her the royal bumps)  but Levi was a big hit and I recall the day the ladies asked him about having a new baby.  He informed them that the baby was going to be named "Ace".  Now nine years later I chuckled as we were making fondant with her "Ace of Cakes" baking set.  

Not may kids would want to make their own birthday cake but Olivia is considering being a chef when she grows up and loves to cook!
This recipe is from The Breast Friends Cookbook #1 and is the chocolate cake with brown sugar icing.  A favorite choice for birthdays at our house.  


The best thing about baking is licking the spoon.  
Hey Kelsey take a picture of us baking.  

Ok one picture not a hundred.  

One of our adopted kids (our hockey billet) came for a visit and cake and took the kids skating.  What a saint!  Olivia is talking to G+G on the phone for her bday.  
Here is Olivia's present from last year that took us a year to getting around to because you need a microwave to cook the cake which we haven't had for over 2 years!  So we brought it to Grandmas to create the masterpieces.  
It is the original Ace of Cakes.  
So many sparkles and fondant.  Grandma just about snapped because the kids all pronounce fondant with the same accent as Buddy from Cake Boss.




I don't think of it as a mess just free spirited artistic expression.  

The proud bakers.  

Cuttng the cake.
Happy Birthday my sweet little girl.  You are an Ace to me!

The boys didn't turn out quite as perky but they were still happy with the final product.  



Twas the night before Christmas....

For the first time in our decade of marriage we stayed in our own house for Christmas Eve and woke up Christmas Morning to open our presents.  I found myself in shock when I realized that we only had three more Christmases until Levi would be the one coming home from University for Christmas. 
Of course even more important than presents at the Rokochy house is the food.  We went with Lobster and Crab and a little red wine.  Better double the dose of Nexium for this meal.  
We sat quietly by the fire.   
And visited Grandma.   
Just a few Nachos to tide us over until supper.   
Ellie was not such a fan of the seafood and opted for the ham sandwich.  But like her Dad with his recipes she thought she would spice it up a bit by dipping it in her milk.  Reminds me of the cats at Aunty Bevs house.  



Do I have something on my face?


Maybe this is how wifesaver was invented.  This is a traditional Rokochy Christmas dish that is made Christmas Eve and served Christmas morning.  
Here is the wifesaver recipe (not that Pat ever uses a recipe but you might want one).  Every meal in my house is made by my husband thus saving his wife from ever having to cook
Ingredients:
• 16 slices of Bread
• 16 slices Black Forest Ham
• 6 Eggs
• 2 tbsp Cornflakes (crushed)
• 2 cups Cheddar Cheese (shredded)
• 1/2 cup Margarine
• 1/4 cup Onions and green peppers
• 3 cups Milk
• 1-2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/2 tsp Salt
How to make Christmas Wife Saver:
Put 8 bread slices in a large roaster or cake pan.
Put cheddar and ham slices to cover.
Top again with 8 slices of bread.
Mix remaining ingredients except margarine and cornflakes.
Beat the mixture well and pour it over bread.
Let it stand overnight in refrigerator. Remove in the morning.
Melt the margarine and pour over all.
Sprinkle with cornflakes.
Now bake it at 350 degrees F for about 50 minutes.
Christmas Wife Saver is ready.








The kids take after their Dad leaving Santa sticky notes.  Probably the most efficent way to make sure he doesn't lose them. 
Let's hope Santa is a Habs Fan.  

Let's take some Christmas Pictures before bed 


Someone's ready for bed.  




Christmas Morning.  It's the Christmas Fairy!
What's in the box?   

It's a Broncos toque and a giant pair of Broncos sweats you'll have to return.   
A super cool Gong Show Hockey toque. from Santa's elves.    http://www.gongshowgear.com/ 
Pop up Pirate, Carson's favorite game at play school, guaranteed to  give anyone over the age of 10 a heart attack.  


Maybe one too many cookies for mom as I broke one of the last two chairs from our set while opening presents.   
If food is one of the main ingredients in a fun holiday the other is games.  We love board games, crib, cards and no Christmas is complete without a guy/girl smackdown in Trivial Pursuit.  
 Pat took this game quite seriously you would think he was perfoming actual surgery.  Where's your mask McBeardy?  
Dr Ellie has a steady hand but ohhhh wait.   

 If you look in the background you will see even a surgeon needs a pee break once and a while.  My mom is thrilled to have us potty training Ellie the week we are at her new house and she has all new flooring and Ellie likes to drag her pot around an pee anywhere.  


 Ok I will just dump that.

 Yeah Ellie

 May not have been the best choice to use Chocolate covered Raisins as her "potty treat"  I hope she doesn't get confused.

 Of course pjs all day and DS is a must.