Firecracker Chicken

I avoid complicated meals at almost all costs, but there is one recipe that I can't seem to stay away from.  I prepared the sauce for it last night which involved the chopping and seeding of some really hot peppers.  The recipe calls for jalapeno, but I went with scotch bonnet.  Did you know that it is near impossible to remove the essence of scotch bonnet peppers from your hands in one or two good washes?  I realized this while I was flossing my teeth before bed, and felt my mouth set afire while I was doing it.  I prefer a minty floss generally.  I felt like I had just eaten hot chicken wings.  Then I worried about what I might do to Chichi during a diaper change so I scrubbed my hands raw, which left them stinging badly as I probably opened up a sore or two in my attempt to be pepper free.  It was like I had injected the hot pepper under my skin.  It took at least a half hour to subside.  In the morning, I found that my hands still had some kick to them.  I managed to keep my fiery hands away from all eyes and further orifices, but damn, those peppers should come with a pair of latex gloves!  Anyhow, it is pretty much my favourite meal right now, even though it is way too much work, not child friendly, and not all that healthy either.  You still want it, don't you?  Well, as I state above, this is not a food blog, however, this blog is.  I managed to find it while trying to avoid walking upstairs to use the scanner on the existing page that I have it copied on.  Go for it, but don't play with yourself for days after making it.  Don't say I didn't warn ya!  

Continuing to Pay for the Veterinarian's House

We got through the March break relatively unscathed. A couple of playdates, Disney On Ice, and a McDonald's playground got us through the rest of the week. No big whoop, as Pumpkin wasn't in torture-mommy mode. Still, she and I were both happy to have school back in session.

The big drama of today would be my dog who had minor surgery. There was a growth on her foot that was removed, which has left her temporarily limping. The seemingly bigger issue is the damn cone/lamp shade doohicky she has to wear around her neck to prevent her from licking her wounds. She is a 75lb dog, which means her particular lamp shade is quite large, tripling the diameter of her required headroom. Combine that with her already hyper personality, and you've got a lot of paint chips, wall gouges, and scratched knees. It's going to be a long ten days of this. I can't imagine that she is too impressed either. She looks so miserable lying there with her droopy, doped up eyes, bandaged foot, and normally upright ears being bent downwards by the stupid cone. Poor baby. She requests that all flowers, gifts, and edibles be sent care of me, you know, just in case she's too sleepy to answer the door.

March Break Survival - 1st Edition

So far, so good, sort of. I was a bit of a slacker on Saturday and didn't do anything with Pumpkin to start off her spring break, but she was pretty good that day, busying herself with arts n' crafts, and Disney movies.

On Sunday I took her to a Judy and David performance, which she seemed to enjoy, although more so in retrospect than during. It was a modern day rendition of The Three Little Pigs, and although she seemed a little restless while we were watching it, a half hour after the show I heard her say, "We can't go yet - I need to hug the pigs!" A little late, but at least there was some sort of impact. One day I'll figure her out. I can't say that I'm a big fan of Judy and David, although this was the first time I've ever been subjected to their schtick. I've heard them referred to as The Canadian Wiggles, which is definitely a stretch, but overall it was pretty good. Coincidentally, we met up with some good friends at the show, which was an added bonus.

Yesterday, we hit the maple sugar bush for the second year in a row. Oddly enough, it was the same place where we went last year, when I reported disappointment with the experience. They're still not offering taffy on snow, which blows, but Pumpkin got more into the experience, fed the animals, had a pony ride, and generally enjoyed being out of doors. That was my actual reason for returning to this particular place. I really wanted to get out and enjoy this sunny weather we've been having, and there's something kitchy about being at a sugar bush. Besides, I learned to make my own taffy last year, improving on the technique by substituting ice cream in place of my dog-abused snow supply. Think I'll do another round of that before the week is out.

Today we made it downtown for Spring Fling, although I wish we hadn't. It was essentially the same type of carnival that turns up in local shopping mall parking lots, but because of where it was, the line-ups were insane, and we ended up waiting about 45 minutes for each crappy ride. Not so good if you happen to be with a tiny bladdered person. If you do decide to venture out to do this, bring enough snacks to keep the kids from whining and tantrumming in line. I ran out too early in the day. Also, build up a lot of hype for the ice cream or popcorn that you promise your kids for when you want to make an exit. To be honest, I would have offered Pumpkin a small, Korean car just for an opportunity to get outta there! Thankfully popcorn did the trick.

I guess I still have a few more days of trying to be the funnest mom ever. Wish me luck!

I Suppose it's One Way to Travel...

Pardon the annoying toy - I needed bait.

Recipe for a Happy Marriage?

There was an article in the paper yesterday that discussed the formula for a happy marriage as per a survey conducted on 3000 Brits.  To sum things up, on average, the people who had the happiest marriages:  say, "I love you", daily; share 2 hobbies; have sex three times a week; communicate three times during the work day; enjoy two romantic meals a month; and exchange four kisses and three cuddles daily.  What I can deduce from this is that the happy couples that helped to formulate this recipe have neither small children, nor PVRs.  As someone who has both, I think we need to tweek this a wee bit.  

Saying, "I love you", everyday isn't too much of a hardship but all those kisses and cuddles are going to be difficult to squeeze in.  The mornings might not be a good time for this as we are in constant battle with our 3 year old, starting from being jolted out of slumber by her squealing, and ending with her complete refusal to get into the car to go to school.  Any romantic gestures during this time will be taken as sarcasm.  Evenings aren't great for this either because the whole business of getting two kids fed, bathed, and off to bed is exhausting to say the least, and by the time we've got them in their beds and get dinner cleared away, we need to take to our separate corners to unwind.  There may be time for a genuine "I love you" in the hour between getting relaxed and heading off to bed, provided it doesn't interfere with our favourite shows.  I am, however, willing to multitask and cuddle while I'm watching TV.  Based on this, I'm willing to offer up four "I love yous"per week, and maybe one long cuddle per night, with the possibility of a kiss during a commercial break.  No promises though.  

Speaking of our shows, this is where the PVR becomes an issue.  How can one be expected to have sex three times a week EVERY week when we have the ability to record hours and hours of quality programming every week, and need to use our spare time to keep from falling behind on it.  Lost, Grey's Anatomy, House, Hell's Kitchen, etc.  That's a heck of a lot of commitment!  We may have romantic plans for after the TV turns off, but c'mon people, let's talk about sleep here!  Small children, remember?  Would my marriage really be happier if I were that much more tired?  I'm going to leave it to you to decide how often is enough 'cause my parents are reading and they don't need more information than they've already got.  I knew I should never have given them my web address.  

How about those two hobbies that we're supposed to share?  Is it enough that we both like to mountain bike and ski, but only get to fantasize about getting out to do those things together.  I suppose fantasizing could count as a hobby, right?  I'll go with one hobby that can be done anytime, anywhere.

Communicating at least 3 times during the work day? Does calling to ask him to bring home diapers count?  How about if I follow it up with a text message that instructs him on which specific diapers to buy?  That'll put me at two!  Truthfully, our days are both rather busy, and interrupting each other is kind of annoying.  I'm gonna offer up one per day, provided there is actual information that needs to be transmitted.

Two romantic meals per month seems acceptable, although the interpretation of "romantic" must be a subjective thing.  Are the kids bound and gagged such that hubby and I may converse?  Yes?  Consider this to be romantic.

Theoretically, we're not putting forth enough effort to actually be happy, which is too bad, because I mistakenly believed that we were happy.  That's so much extra work that I don't even want a happy marriage now!  I'm gonna settle for mediocre.  Who's with me?

Freshening Up, Take One.

To distract you from noticing that I've got absolutely nothing to say, I've started redecorating. If that new banner doesn't entice you to keep coming back, I don't know what will.