The bad news is...

Our vehicles were broken in twice in one week! On Sunday night, they stole our portable DVD player from the truck, which I stupidly left unlocked. From the van,the thieves stole the girls' dance bag (highland dance shoes, body suits, etc.) and the briefcase that we bring with us to church. I was upset about this loss the most because it had lots of nice books and missals inside that were either quite old, or expensive, or had been given to the children for first communion, etc. It also had some rosaries and the veils that the girls and I wear to mass. Two days later, the truck window was smashed (I locked the doors) and the radar detector was gone! What jerks! The police brought over a "bait car", that has a camera in it that starts rolling as soon as the door is opened. It was here for a few days, but no one took the "bait".
This is the new bag I bought for all our church books, etc. I love it.
The good news is that St. Anthony answered my prayer! After I ordered new veils, I prayed to St. Anthony that the church books would be returned. He is the patron saint for lost items, and has helped us out numerous times. When I got home later that day, Greg told me that someone had found the briefcase and books scattered along the road. They saw our phone number in one of the books, and called us, saying they had the books and bag at their house. I was so thrilled. I bought them a huge bouquet of flowers and drove over right away to thank them. Strangely enough, the veils were not in the bag. Gregory and I drove down the road where the books were found, to see if the veils had blown away,or were caught in some trees, but we didn't see any. However, Greg did find the dance bag and all the highland dance slippers!
Thank you, St. Anthony!

nice try, Mary Margaret

When Tatabun comes over for dinner, he usually likes to do a bit of music with the kids. Sometimes the lessons will be only a few minutes, and sometimes they will be quite long.Here is Tatabun in the music room with Mary Margaret. Just before Mary picked up her guitar, she came into the kitchen and asked that if Tatabun made her play the same thing over and over, would I interrupt the lesson to ask Mary to set the table?
Ha! Nice try, Mary Margaret.

what's the name of this restaurant?

Gregory made this amazing dinner...Grilled steaks with porcini mushroom sauce, polenta, and salads.
I have no idea how he made the porcini sauce, but it was absolutely incredible!
**drool**
Greg's dad has been bringing some fantastic wines for us to enjoy when he comes over for dinner. I feel like we are dining at a fabulous French restaurant. This Italian wine was perfect with our meal.
Hi, girls!

Happy 15th birthday, Felicity.

Wow! Fifteen?! Cool.
Felicity got a hilarious musical card, lots of jewelry and other cool stuff!
Yummy jelly beans.
Felicity collects marionettes and *lloves* llamas, so when Greg and I saw this awesome llama marionette in Vancouver, we just had to get it for Felicity.
Make a wish, Felicity!
Mint chocolate cake & ice cream. Love you, Felicity.

fish cakes

I made these delicious fish cakes with some halibut pieces that my mum gave me. To make fish cakes:
Flake cooked halibut (approx. 1Lb) into large bowl. Mix in the following;
1 cup chopped green onion
3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp flour
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
1 egg
1 cup panko- (Japanese breadcrumbs)
salt & pepper

Shape into cakes,and coat with more panko.
Heat 4 Tbsp olive oil over medium- high heat. Cook fish cakes until brown and crisp, about 6 minutes per side.
You should also make some aioli to serve as a sauce with the fish cakes.
In a small bowl mix together mayonnaise, lemon juice, crushed garlic, salt & pepper. I also added some chopped capers, just for a change.
I made this as a main course with mashed potatoes, and a cucumber salad, but these would also make great appetizers if you made them a bit smaller.
We really like this Damasco wine from Zanatta, a local winery.

Felicity, you are not helping

The following conversation took place at a restaurant, after Felicity, Eva and I just finished a shopping marathon.
Eva: "Does the treadmill work?"
Me: "yeah." I say, as I dip my calamari in some tzatziki sauce, and pop it in my mouth.
Eva: "When was the last time you used it?"
Me: "Um...a couple weeks ago"
Eva: Grinning "So, you use it every six weeks or so?"
Me: (putting down my french fry) "What are you saying, Eva?"
Felicity: "Eva! Don't talk to an old lady about her weight!"

Happy 10th Birthday, Thomas

Here is the card that Eva made. Coolness. Look out for the silver soldier hiding in the presents!
Thomas gets to open his prezzies before going to school in the morning.
Gregory made a delicious apple-pear spice cake. It was really good!Thomas has just opened some gifts from Grama, and is enjoying his cake.
Happy Birthday, Thomas! Love you.Thomas also had a party with some of his friends. Here he is opening some presents.
One candle left on the birthday cake. That means Thomas has one girlfriend. wooo.
I tried to arrange some party games for the guys, but they all groaned when I asked them to come inside to play, so of course, I just let them stay outside. They had so much fun, just wrestling (three boys had bloody noses!), and then later, they had a water-fight. I think all the boys had a great time,and it was probably the easiest birthday party we've had here.

Weekend in Vancouver

Gregory and I enjoyed a nice weekend in Vancouver, just the two of us. It was really relaxing, for me especially, as I was able to sleep in, and spend my days shopping, and eating at fantastic restaurants.
Gregory was attending a medical/legal conference at The Four Seasons Hotel, so he was pretty busy. It was great to see Alex and meet his fiance Suzy for dinner (sorry, I forgot my camera that night).
This picture was taken in the lobby of The Four Seasons. Behind me is YEW restaurant,- great food.
This was so awesome! I met up with my friend Meg, who I haven't seen in at least ten years!! We got caught up over lunch. It was really cool seeing her again.

picnic

Grace and Heather were not feeling well enough to go to school today, so they stayed home. One glass of ginger ale later, they were almost 100 % better.
The weather was great, so I decided that we should eat lunch outside. O.K, the truth is the girls were arguing, and I sent them outside to play! But, still, we did eat outside, and the girls quickly forgot their disagreements and got busy finding a blanket and helping out with the lunch. This is simply the school lunch I packed for the girls, before they told me they were "sick". It's PB&J sandwiches, peach yogurt, apples, and sesame snaps. Trinity made some lemonade, too.Some little cuddly friends joined in the picnic.
How are you feeling, now, Heather?
It really was a beautiful afternoon. The sun was warm and we saw the eagles flying right overhead. Yes, that tiny speck in the sky is an eagle!
The girls were really interested in this spider and ladybird on this leaf.Trinity picked a dandelion for my hair. Loverly. After lunch Grace & Trinity played hide-and-go-seek, while Heather sat in the sunshine and read a book. I just relaxed, and enjoyed watching the girls play.

yay, Trinity

Trinity is the only one of our kids that had trouble staying in her own bed at night. (O.K,so maybe I spoiled her just a little bit) Everyone else has always slept through the night (in their own bed), well before they were a year old! I never thought it would take four years for Trinity to get it!! Anyway,I made this simple chart to help motivate her, and it totally worked! I wish I had thought of this three years ago!In the morning, if Trinity had stayed in her own bed all night, she got to put a sticker on her chart. Once she had 10 stickers, she got a special treat.
First, she chose a trip to the toy store, where she bought a cute playmobil set.
Second, she wanted an apron so she could help Mummy in the kitchen. Aww...
well, I had trouble finding a really cute one, so I decided to make one for her.
So, Trinity, Grace, Heather each chose their own fabric, and I made an apron for each of them. I have to admit that the aprons were so adorable, it was actually fun to make.
Third treat was a purple, star shaped pillow that came with a unicorn toy. I think you can see it in her bed, in the picture below.
Fourth and final reward was a rainbow heart necklace and bracelet set.
We don't need the chart anymore,as she stays in her bed all night.
Here is Trinity in her apron. Isn't she sweet?
What's in your pocket, Cin-Cin? I spy with my little eye, a tiny toy hamster and a rainbow heart necklace.
She said it is her pet hamster. Good, girl, Cin-cin, for finishing your reward chart!

Highland dance test

The children were tested on their highland dancing skills. This is a big deal as the adjudicator flies in from Scotland. The kids all passed with flying colours, and will be getting their medals from Scotland in a couple of months.Trinity is as cool as a cucumber. This is her first test.
Heather and her friend are waiting for their turn. Only three girls are sent in at a time in front of the judge. We are not allowed to watch them dance.
A sea of kilts! Grace didn't have a test this year, as she has already passed all the levels for her age group. I remember last year Grace came out crying because all the other girls in her test group were so much bigger than she was.
Mary Margaret also did a great job. She is at the 'pre-gold' level, which obviously gets more difficult. Mary was nervous, but did a fantastic job, and her teacher was really proud of her. Me too.

Trinity's tent

Trinity spent most of the morning in her 'tent'. She has it all set up with some food, a lantern, Kleenex, pencils & paper for drawing, and behind her is her little feather duster. She really wanted to sleep here last night, too.
Trinity has always liked to make little houses for herself. When she was very little, maybe 2 yrs. old, she would go under her bottom sheet of her bed and would say she was in her 'Buddha'. I have no idea where that came from! She also liked to be on the couch and surround herself with cushions and call it her 'coconut house'.

Cookies & milk

Is there anything more comforting than a cookie jar full with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies? yum. This weekend I baked a batch of cookies to take to a 'Latin Mass Meeting', but the cookies never made it to the meeting. The kids ate them all! Oh, well, I just couldn't refuse the children's pleading faces. Especially since I had an order for a black forest cake, which they did not get to taste.
This is the forbidden cake!

R.I.P. old laptop

I have lots of pictures to post, but I am not too sure how to use this new program that Peter put on my new computer! I have to figure it out now because my old laptop (which I was still blogging with) is officially dead! Some *dear* little child placed two powerful magnets on my computer. Oops!
Today is miserable out - rain, snow, hail, thunder. A perfect day to bake cookies and read a book, or try to figure out how to post my pictures.

Happy Birthday to me

I had such a great day on my birthday. Not only did I get the greatest gift from my wonderful husband (check out the post below) , my Mum took me (& Cin-Cin) out for lunch and a shopping trip, but Gregory also made me a delicious dinner. Veal with a wonderful caper sauce, sauteed bok choy, roasted potatoes, and a salad.
So good!
Dessert was ice cream, with fresh strawberries drizzled with Grand Marnier. Yum.
And lots of hugs and kisses from the children.
I think I must be the luckiest woman in the world.