We have successfully made it through another birthday season! I can’t believe the Kids turned 12 and 16 this year!!!!!
SBean has been through it over the last few years. She has always been a cautious kid, but Covid made her, a scared kid. We have been working really hard at breaking out of some of those self perpetuated limitations and boundaries and this year she has come out of her shell even more and actively works at not letting fear best her. Being able to experience a girls weekend away with her in Toronto to see Taylor Swift was everything this mama‘s heart could’ve ever wanted or hoped for. Seeing her publicly express how happy she was and how excited she was, was everything! She does not like to be vulnerable. SBean makes sure she checks the time, date, and place twice even if Ninja and I have each already checked it twice, at her request lol.
But boy, when she wants something, she works for it. She loves gymnastics, musical theater, the piano, and her saxophone! She worked super hard this year and finally got her front handspring, round off back handspring and her straddle & pullover on the bars. She is super close to her aerial and front tuck! She earned a first place medal for her floor routine and a trophy for her artistry this year! This was her first year in musical theatre and she absolutely loved it! It has really helped with her confidence! This spring, SBean performed at the Kiwanis festival and their musical theatre/choir group was selected to perform in the highlights show for outstanding marks. This past fall they made two Halloween videos and this past week they performed live with the Rocky Mountain High John Denver Christmas show. SBean took up piano and saxophone over the past year and she loves them both! We love the sound of music filling our house as she practises nightly, no seriously lol we do! It is so fun to watch her band perform at school concerts, we loved her summer piano recital and can’t wait for her Christmas recital coming up!
Outside of all of her activities, SBean loves decorating and by that I mean her bedroom changes with the season and her bathroom decor changes with what colour she feels like each night during bathtime lol. She also loves Taylor Swift, Boba tea, her Stanley mug, collecting pins, and The Simpsons. Her favourite bedtime snack is popcorn, and she loves mashed potatoes, brisket, bagels with cream cheese, and green beans.
She also loves her friend group! She has made a great group of girlfriends and has a few friends that are boys that she is truly awkward around lol. She has a tight circle of friends, but her and her G6Besty are thick as thieves! She’s a great kid and it’s wonderful to hear them laugh and be able to be completely themselves around each other, that is hard to find.
SBean is a fantastic student. She is in leadership, loves reading, especially historical fiction and mystery, hates math, but still delivers fantastic grades in it lol, complains about gym class every day and likes science but likes socials more. Sometimes she says things to me, and I am blown away by the thought behind her ideas and sometimes the words she uses to describe things, I wonder where my baby went? And then she says something ridiculous about being preppy or skibidi or riz or something and I remember that she’s still my little girl lol.
Year 11 was the first year of middle school and so many other firsts after that! I am so proud of SBean for being exactly who she is, a little tornado that brings personality, energy and sarcastic wit everywhere she goes. I can’t wait to see what year 12 brings!
This was another big year for HBear! From getting those pesky braces off, going zip lining, improving in golf, and joining ballet again. HBear loves clothes, changing hairstyles often, accessorizing, and living a maximalist style.
HBear worked super hard this year in after school activities; curling, working at the library, participating in the Youth Action Committee, and practicing different forms of art such as digital art, sketching, and painting, even painting a mural for us. She also participates in jazz and concert band taking up the clarinet and the trumpet this year but the true musical passion is, the drums. She began drum lessons this year and composed a 6 part drum piece for all the drumming students at PAMDA. Also participating in a weeklong songwriting camp for the Ignite The Arts Festival and was invited to a weeklong summer camp, Jazzcool.
HBear excels at school but has to work harder at math than any other subject. She currently has a 100% in art class, and is killing band, life sciences, and creative writing! HBear enjoys reading, but would prefer to draw in the downtime. Whether it is painting, on the tablet, or using different mediums on paper HBear is always creating.
HBear also loves a wide variety of ALL music (except Taylor Swift lol), Timmies ice caps, Kirby, Hello Kitty, collecting snow globes, and anything on Crunchyroll.
HBear loves her friend group! And it is a great group of friends. Kids from elementary school, band, theatre, Leadership and curling. They love playing games, D and D and anime. HBear also has her first “serious” boyfriend and they are super cute together. They love watching movies in pjs and laughing together… a lot. He also plays the trumpet and that’s how they connected. They talk on the phone ALL evening lol and they remind me of what first love was like when I was 16 lol.
HBear was chosen by peers to participate in a leadership workshop, Be The Change. This is a significant acknowledgment of the positive impact she has within the school community. We are SO proud. HBear is working super hard to let go of preconceived ideas of the future and on loving herself as much as we love her and as much as she deserves to be loved, which is a lot because she really is a great kid that considers others and has a great sense of humour, amazing taste in unique clothing and a fantastic personality.
Year 15 was a big year of independence! I even noticed that I don’t have nearly the amount of pictures I usually do from HBear’s year, because she is always out with friends and the only pictures I get are what she sends me! I’m so proud of her for coming into her own, but also miss her so much now that she is busy and has her own teenage life! Parenting is no joke lol I am so proud of HBear for being exactly who HBear is, a unique individual that exudes confidence, critical thinking skills, and a dark sense of humour. Who brings character, a positive attitude and biting humour everywhere she goes. I can’t wait to see what year 16 brings!
All that to say, we do birthday presents AND Christmas presents within 3 weeks of each other!!! So my shopping is done EARLY!!! These are a few of the gifts we will be getting for the Kids this holiday season! The things I’m going to share come with affiliate links and I do make a VERY small commission from them. With me not working, if you would like to use my affiliated link to do your Amazon shopping, that would be appreciated! I use the little bit of commission to pay to keep this blog running, thank you SO much for your continued support!
Gift Guide
This Movie Night Popcorn looks like a fun gift! We go through a lot of popcorn in this house lol. Ninja has been making us the BEST popcorn out of the same air popper since 2006! Lol Sometimes he makes us have microwave popcorn though and that doesn’t make us very happy lol however, with all of these delightful seasoning shakers, perhaps we will be asking for microwave popcorn more often! A present for the Kids and for Daddy! Lol
We use an UltraSonic cleaning machine for our blind cleaning business so we know how well this Ultrasonic Retainer Cleaner works! I remember taking my retainer out in the morning and how absolutely disgusting it was lol why didn’t they have these things when I was a teenager? HBear is going to LOVE this gift!
Now I know that we are halfway through December, but I had to share this anyways, this was the Fine Art Advent Calendar. We got for HBear for her birthday this year! We are so impressed with it! It has legitimate art tools that HBear can add to her collection and take with her to use throughout her life.
Parenting is hard! Teaching our Kids manners and sanitary habits seems like it should be easy, but it is not! Lol I don’t remember avoiding the shower when I was younger as much as my teenagers do now! Lol I have finally got them using their Norwex cloths to take off their makeup, and wash their faces… Now to get them to clean their make up brushes and sponges! I bought this Makeup Brush Cleansing Shampoo, which comes with 2 bottles and the Makeup Brush Cleansing Mat, which comes with 2 mats, separated them and they’re going into their stockings!
I am big on journaling. This year I picked out two different Journals for each of the Kids in areas of their life where they may need just a bit more organization. They have all different types of journals, self-care, manifestation, gratitude, and meditation journals. I’m going to keep on prompting them and hoping that one day, it finally takes! Lol.
Last year I got HBear some sensory stickers which she loved putting on her binder but this year we’re taking the fidgeting devices up a step and getting this Sensy Band! If you or your child likes to pick, this band, apparently helps you break that habit. We shall see!
SBean is an avid reader. She especially likes historical fiction and mystery, this book is a bit of both! I have heard amazing things about The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys & Steve Sheinkin, read fantastic reviews, and can’t wait to read this book myself when SBean is done!
It seems like all my Nieces and all the Kids in my life are into cats. We all have dogs, but all the Kids like… Cats. Lol This year I stocked up on fuzzy cat socks and Kitty Earmuffs for ALL the cat, loving girlies in my family.
SBean asked for a Blissy pillowcase for Christmas. Apparently she thinks I am willing to spend $100 on a satin pillowcase to keep her hair less staticy. Ha ha ha ha ha So instead of doing that, we bought these Satin Sleep Bonnets! Do you think she’ll notice the difference? Lol.
Since I have been diagnosed with MS, I have enjoyed baking much more than I have in the past. Baking is slow, precise, and takes a long time, 3 things that used to annoy me, but now suit me perfectly! Lol. I love turning on some Christmas music, switching the twinkle lights on and baking some festive Christmas treats!
Everyone in our house loves chocolate chip cookies, and we especially love chocolate chip cookie bars! This is like that, but we made it Christmas Cookie Bars! These have been a big hit in our house, we keep them in a Ziploc bag in the freezer and bring out a few each week so they will last throughout the holidays.
However, this Christmas Bread did NOT last throughout the holidays, lol. This easy quick loaf is festive, tasty, and screams holiday joy! This was a big hit and so easy, I will probably make another loaf before the holidays are over.
Speaking of hits, these Chocolate Crinkle Cookies were a massive hit! I made the dough and let it sit overnight, and they turned out perfectly! So light but still rich in flavour and I absolutely love the texture of these cookies! I will definitely be finding more crinkle cookie recipes for the future!
We mixed two of our favourite treats together and made Gingerbread Brownies that are to die for! The brownie like texture with the gingerbread flavours is SO good together! Ninja had to freeze these quickly and brings them out sparingly to keep me from gobbling them all up lol!
After all the birthday cupcakes over the past two weeks, you would think we are sick of cupcakes, but you would be wrong! Lol we are never sick of cupcakes in this house! SBean wanted to make a quick holiday treat for us this weekend and her and Ninja threw these delicious, and freaking adorable, Twinkle Light Cupcakes together using a box cake mix, a tub of frosting, an edible gel pen, and mini M&Ms that we already had in the pantry. These would make the easiest and cutest, bake sale cupcakes ever!
While, the Kids are all about cupcakes, I fell head over heels in love with these Cranberry Orange Muffins with Streusel Topping! The tart cranberries popped and complimented the sweet fragrance and flavour of the orange! The cinnamon streusel on top knocked these muffins into a different stratosphere of Christmas baking! Yum!
Christmas Cookie Bars
16
large bars or 24 small bars10
minutes22-25
minutesIngredients
½ cup butter
2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups flour
1 cup Christmas M&Ms
½ cup Christmas sprinkles
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13” metal pan with foil and spray well with cooking spray.
Mix butter and brown sugar with a stand mixer until crumbly.
Mix in eggs and vanilla until smooth. Mix in salt, baking powder, then flour. Stir in M&Ms and sprinkles.
Spread in prepared pan.
Bake for about 22-25 minutes until they start to turn golden. Err on the side of under baked with these – they’ll finish baking as the cool and you don’t want them over baked. Slice into bars.
Ingredients
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2½ teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup heavy cream (or milk)
1¾ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.
In a large bowl, using your mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix just until combined then mix in the sour cream and milk until incorporated; set aside.
In a separate large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir in until just combined and no flour streaks remain.
Fold in the sprinkles but do not overmix them or they could bleed into the batter.
Spread into the prepared loaf pan and bake for about 60 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean from the center and the top is just golden. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the icing by whisking together the powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla. Spread the icing over the cooled bread. Sprinkle with extra sprinkles if desired.
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
3
dozen10
minutes1-24
hours10-15
minutesIngredients
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup butter, softened
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
½ cup powdered sugar
Directions
Combine cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Place butter, sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until combined. Add the eggs and mix on medium-low speed until combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and mix on low speed until incorporated.
Cover the bowl and chill the dough for at least 1 hour or up to overnight (the longer you chill, the thicker the cookies will be).
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Roll the dough into tablespoon-sized balls and cover them well with the sugar.
Place on a lined baking sheet with enough space between them (bake in batches) and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until spread and crackled. Cookies will still be soft, so let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Ingredients
1 cup butter, melted
1 ½ cups brown sugar, packed
2 eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ½ cups flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine butter and brown sugar. Stir well. Mix in eggs, molasses, and vanilla.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the butter and egg mixture until completely combined.
Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the edges are set and the center is no longer jiggly.
Allow to cool completely before sprinkling with a dusting of icing sugar. Cut and serve.
Ingredients
1 box Duncan Hines Chocolate Fudge Cake
1 1/4 cups water
½ cup oil
3 eggs, room temperature
1 tub fluffy white frosting
Black Gel Pen
1/4 cup mini M&M's
Directions
Heat oven to 350℉. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
Follow the directions and ingredients on the box. In my case using Duncan Hines Chocolate Fudge Cake, in a medium bowl, whisk together the cake mix, water, oil and eggs until just combined.
Scoop into prepped muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Place the cupcakes on a rack and let cool completely.
Put frosting into a squeeze bottle or a piping bag and pipe on, in a swirl. Use the black gel to make a string in the same way you piped the frosting.
Place mini M&Ms on their sides, sticking up, like Christmas lights! Put on as many as you like.
Cranberry Orange Muffins With Streusel Topping
12
muffins20
minutes18-20
minutesIngredients
1 cup flour
1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons orange juice
¼ cup canola oil
1 tablespoon orange zest, freshly grated
1 1/4 cups cranberries-fresh or frozen
- Streusel Topping
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup butter, melted
Directions
Preheat oven to 400F degrees and line standard muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.
To make the crumb topping in a small bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and cinnamon, add melted butter and stir with a fork until crumbly, and place in the fridge until ready to use.
In a large bowl stir together flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, orange zest, and sugar until combined. Whisk in yogurt, orange juice, and oil.
Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk everything together.
In a small bowl sprinkle cranberries with 1-2 tablespoon flour and toss them until all berries are coated with a thin layer of flour and then fold them really gently in the batter.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins, filling about 2/3 of each cup. Cover generously with streusel topping.
Place them in the oven and reduce the heat to 375F, bake about 18-20 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #407 Whelmed. This week, we get together after an intense start to our Christmas season. Topics: losing our shit, event regret, Birthdays, working in the kitchen, John Denver, gifts, SOW, advent calendars, & Hallmark.
What a week! Birthdays are done and Christmas has begun! HBear ended her week at the Santa Claus Parade with her high school musical theatre group! Then, on Monday, we set up Christmas! After a rough start lol 3 hormonal females in a house with a Daddy and a Doggie, make for some… Fun family moments lol but we all came around and had a fun and festive evening in the end. HBear attended the Be The Change Leadership Workshop that she was chosen for by her peers, Ninja got a good bonk on his head, HBear had her Christmas concert/jazz band show at the exact same time as Bean’s Soundstage Choir was performance with A Rocky Mountain High Christmas John Denver Tribute Concert! They did amazing!
Maynard brought the family a puzzle advent calendar, I’m enjoying my Purdy’s advent calendar from Ninja, and Maynard also sent the Kids on a candy cane hunt! HBear finished up her Aladdin Jr. run at the Cleland Theatre and everybody went and saw her perform as Iago. Ninja and I went to Kelowna to start/finish lol our Christmas shopping and picked up a nifty new side table for all my cook books and Ninja’s plants! SBean’s birthday gift from Papa came in and she absolutely loves it! This weekend, while HBear was at theatre, SBean, baked, saw Wicked, and caught the first snowfall of the season.
