tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77219907077894156882024-03-05T12:30:28.824-08:00My Life With Two KidsJeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.comBlogger183125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-74095013933541770312010-07-23T08:05:00.000-07:002010-07-23T08:13:18.098-07:00More Homemade Granola BarsI've modified this recipe slightly, and it's even better!1) I removed the brown sugar. Honestly, it's sweet enough with all the honey. With the brown sugar it was too sweet.2) I've added (drum roll) - cocoa powder!!!! This meant removing other spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, etc.) to avoid flavour clashes.3) I've added sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and chopped walnuts.Next I'm going to try replacing theJeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-63003727191350547602010-06-16T18:29:00.000-07:002010-06-16T18:45:57.784-07:00Homemade Granola BarsSo I thought I'd try making some. Just because, well, why not? The cereal bars that you buy in the store are pretty expensive, and not really that nutritious.Here's the recipe I followed:4 cups rolled oats1 cup flour1/2 cup each of flax, coconut, quinoa, wheat germ, raisins, chocolate chips1 tsp cinnamon1/2 cup oil1/2 cup honey1/3 cup brown sugarBasically you mix everything together, pack it all Jeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-80069543907320771202009-10-29T10:41:00.000-07:002009-10-29T10:58:09.338-07:00What Healthy Lunches?Aaaand it's stopped.Alyssa no longer eats the healthy part of her lunch - just the yummy carbs (oh and the cheese string, which I suppose I can't totally complain about). Should I skip the carbs so she'll be forced to eat the fruit and veggies? I suppose I could, but she's pretty darn lean. I don't need and "feedback" about her being underfed.Instead I've stuck with carbs (along with the fruits, Jeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-78668052893836965202009-09-25T09:29:00.000-07:002009-09-25T09:58:04.455-07:00Video Game Addiction In KidsI was at parenthacks.com (love that website :) and came across this post and video...http://www.momversation.com/episodes/video-games-violent...where three moms discuss their boys' video games habits. I myself also know several moms who have sons who can't get enough of this electronic entertainment, and who are fixated on it to the point where nothing else matters to them.I worried about lil' J Jeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-84646224689427818252009-09-22T07:13:00.000-07:002009-09-22T07:22:05.000-07:00School!!!So far so good!! Lil' J is loving Kindergarten and A is happy in Grade 2. Meanwhile I am happy for another reason:I have no idea why, but Alyssa is eating all of the healthy food I've been putting in her lunches. Who is this child? What have they done with my daughter? They look the same, but... I've struggled with her from day one of her school career to eat healthy food at lunch. No matter whatJeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-8115993127471608952009-08-25T08:45:00.000-07:002009-08-25T08:56:06.653-07:00Omega 3 Problem Solved!...thanks to "Ironkids Gummies". They're like little ju-jubes, each one containing 50mg of Omega 3 fatty acids. My daughter LOVES them. I don't blame her - every time I open the bottle and smell them I want to devour a handful myself. They're like little tropical flavoured chewy candies. (Fyi - I found them at Superstore).I'm a little skeptical because at least with the Smart Squirts (which my Jeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-85773940210627514832009-08-07T23:23:00.001-07:002009-08-07T23:35:16.455-07:00Bedtime Takes An HourAt LEAST an hour, by the time we do snacks, teeth brushing and flossing, stories, pyjamas, and on and on. Is it me, or is that nuts?It helps to know the time, though. I've been trying to move back their bedtimes in preparation for the impending arrival of the return to school (yes, I'm proactive about these things ;) and am mystified every time when I miss my mark. However when I think in terms Jeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-52349255268200760162009-08-02T15:03:00.000-07:002009-08-02T15:11:04.092-07:00Awwww... He Tried, At Least!!Summer = time outside = dirty kid feet. My two have spent a lot of time lately on the bathroom counter with their feet in the sink, cleaning up a bit before they come inside to play.Today they were outside riding their bikes, which meant they had shoes on. Shortly after we came inside, I noticed Lil' J walking around with bare feet, the bottom of his pant legs soaking wet (yes, he put long pants Jeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-33719726033457101412009-07-24T12:30:00.000-07:002009-07-26T22:47:28.881-07:00DHA And Mom's PersistenceAhhh!! The "monkey see monkey do" phenomenom worked for me today with the DHA and Lil' J.I was taking a gel cap myself, and he wanted it. He wanted the adult sized, must swallow whole if you don't want to chew on fish oil, capsule. He insisted he could swallow it. He begged me for one! Hmmm. I actually briefly contemplated letting him have it but reconsidered, since it's been awhile since my Jeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-91685084140118121232009-07-09T15:36:00.000-07:002009-07-09T15:43:46.705-07:00Magic AgeTHIS is why you have more than one child. Right now, I'm finally seeing it. I had this (and other reasons too) in mind back when we were trying for our second pregnancy, but now it's coming to fruition. Finally (just when I thought it was never gonna happen!!!), my two kids play nicely together more often than they fight with each other. They have fun together, help each other, co-operate, you Jeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-13793227581483208582009-06-20T21:09:00.000-07:002009-06-20T21:24:10.856-07:00I Guess I Don't Think Like A KidI'm always looking for goodie bag ideas, so any time my kids come home with one, I'm eager to see the contents. Candies, toys, hair ties, pencils, gum, lip gloss - you name it, it's been there.My daughter brought home a goodie bag today from a party, so as usual I peered over her shoulder as she inspected the contents. There were things you could eat, wear, write with, and so on. And then there Jeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-16254428422035859872009-06-19T11:41:00.001-07:002009-06-19T12:16:02.375-07:00My DHA TriumphBack to the fish oil, and my thus far failed attempts to get it in my kids. Neither one of them are fond of Smart Squirts - the chewable orange flavoured gel caps made especially for kids. Nope, not my kids. I came up with somewhat of a solution yesterday, if you can live with the idea of orange flavoured powdered Gatorade. My husband buys it for drinks for his lunches at work. I had said no to aJeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-30537575951595541562009-06-14T11:06:00.001-07:002009-06-14T11:23:20.636-07:00Learning To Ride A BikeA and J have new bikes. I'm shaking my head wondering where they'll ride them, since we live close to some very busy roads, neither my husband and I have bikes of our own at the moment, and they're too young to use the bikes on their own as transportation. Still, it's a life skill - gotta learn how to ride! Once you do, you never forget. Right now they're both very dependent on training wheels Jeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-54782337499181234312009-06-11T09:25:00.000-07:002009-06-11T09:42:15.962-07:00The Dog Got The DHAHe finished the kids` toast this morning, which I had sneakily spiked with fish oil. Now before you get visions of gutted salmon hanging in my kitchen, let me explain further...I bought some fish oil softgel caps to increase our Omega 3 & DHA intake. The adult variety cost about $6 for 120 caps containing 1000 MG each. According to the dosage recommendations on the label, this is enough for one Jeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-50530388586574606982009-06-07T17:47:00.000-07:002009-06-07T17:52:23.351-07:00DON'T Take This TestI'm referring to the kid's IQ test on this page:http://www.funeducation.com/Tests/My 6 year old is into tests and games (it's her Mommy nerd DNA - I'm so proud!!) and we had some fun with it. It takes about an hour, depending on the age of your child and the number of interruptions, etc. Luckily I didn't say anything to her about "results", because they don't tell you (until you've spent an hour Jeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-75165077152481570792009-06-06T16:35:00.000-07:002009-06-06T16:40:27.564-07:00Ahhh... One Of The Things I've Been Waiting For :)At the moment, my six year old is reading to my five year old. My son's relentless queries of "What does that spell? What does that spell?" are being answered by his sister, while I sit in (relative ;) peace and type this.They're even laughing together! Reading and laughing, and having fun. (Is there a full moon?). Oh my goodness... A just told J to go get another book to read!w00000000t !!!! (Jeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-5820620802739186102009-05-29T22:38:00.000-07:002009-05-29T22:47:11.875-07:00My DenialWhat happened to Grade One?Seriously! Didn't it just begin? What do you mean there's only four weeks left? That can't be right!! What about... Christmas and Valentine's Day and Easter and Mother's Day, and... (oh). OMG.Hang on, though... my son was JUST BORN. What do you mean he starts Kindergarten in 102 DAYS???!!!(And yet... I'm not getting any older ;) Heh heh____________________Return to FineJeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-37893419962594547242009-05-12T17:04:00.000-07:002009-05-12T17:15:15.643-07:00Hannah Montana And YouTube... or should I say my daughter, Hannah Montana, and YouTube. At the moment, I'm being assulted by a strange and unpalatable blend of "Best of Both Worlds" (Alyssa) and the Wii Fit tightrope music (Joseph). Ahhhh. (sigh)We've spent a lot of time outdoors lately, so that's good at least. As the spring and then summer establish themselves and the weather gets better and better, hopefully Alyssa Jeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-46961663620161306152009-05-01T16:12:00.000-07:002009-05-01T16:28:45.153-07:00Sunny Movie AfternoonCan you believe that we've had so much sun lately that my six year old, when I picked her up from school today, informed me that she didn't feel like having a playdate - all she wanted to do was "watch Wall*E, and can you make popcorn? And spread out a blanket on the floor so we can have a picnic? With pillows?"At the moment it's actually cooler in our house than it is outside, and since the kidsJeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-30436601542301090692009-04-19T23:14:00.000-07:002009-04-19T23:32:23.203-07:00Bad MommyAw, lookit that Gerber Graduates commercial mom playing dragon slayer with her little boy!!!I suck.OK I'm not that bad, but I'm definitely not the FUN parent. No Barbies or Hot Wheels for me. If it doesn't have some kind of educational component to it, then I'm not interested. Hmmph. So there.Whaaat? I feed you, don't I? I teach you stuff, read to you, hug you ALL the time, clothe and bath you, Jeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-1099272717648383052009-04-14T09:28:00.000-07:002009-04-14T09:42:41.518-07:00Keeping Them SafeThis morning I was thinking about Victoria Stafford, the eight year old Ontario girl who went missing after she left school on Wednesday, last seen walking with an unidentified woman.Who is this woman? What was Victoria doing walking with her? This got me thinking about my 6 year old girl, who's finally gotten over the paralyzing shyness that was the signature of her toddler years. I decided to Jeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-45168825831619728562009-04-13T14:49:00.000-07:002009-04-13T16:40:55.514-07:00Niiice.My 4 year old: "What did you say punk?" (accompanied by giggles and smiles, with his world famous cutest ever dimples).Me: "Where on earth did you hear that?"DS: "Spongebob!!"I suppose it could be worse. He was saying the F word a few weeks ago. That wasn't cool.But this "punk" thing... is it wrong of me to think it's cute? I swear I have a wound on the inside of my cheek from biting it, tryingJeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-3912643347201477402009-04-05T10:42:00.000-07:002009-04-05T11:18:43.128-07:00Prep For The Big KI know it's only April, but I'm a big believer in being proactive when it comes to my kids' education.Big sister A is happy and thriving in French Immersion, and Lil' J is signed up to start in September. In an effort to get him prepped and keep up with the English side of things at home, I'm creating simple puzzles and exercises for him to do.These days there are so many wonderful published Jeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-44348339866742993662009-04-03T14:29:00.000-07:002009-04-03T14:41:51.232-07:00How Do You Answer That?Here are three that stumped me, as asked by my daughter. There are some things that a six year old just doesn't need to know!!How would you have answered?"Mommy are (army) tanks real? What do they do?""Mommy, I understand why bums are private 'cause poop is yucky, but why are boobs private?""But Mommy, how does the sperm get to the egg to make the baby?"For the tanks question I clumsily stammeredJeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7721990707789415688.post-70052373773004765462009-03-28T08:34:00.000-07:002009-03-28T08:57:50.450-07:00Bangs!!When our little girl, a.k.a. The Hair Diva, announced that she wanted bangs "like everyone else in the family", DH and I were skeptical but agreed that at age 6 she could certainly decide something like that for herself. I made an appointment, and we chopped about 4 inches off the back (it was down past her waist, and yes it's been cut before! Hence the nickname), and cut bangs.She has a Jeanne Ellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12096040179637686179noreply@blogger.com3