Easter Weekend Recap

I haven't done a weekend recap post for awhile since everyday is pretty much the same, weekend or not, but since this was a special holiday, I thought I could do one this week.

On Good Friday Dave made some special Start Wars pancakes, and we watched Peter Rabbit.  

Then outside to load up the new sandbox with sand and play for awhile. This is going to be great fun as the weather warms up.

We had steak and french fries for supper, which were so tasty.  And watched Trolls World Tour in the evening.

On Saturday morning, it was time to decorate the traditional family Easter cake. 

Here was the finished product.  Since we didn't have a big chocolate figure to place on top, Dave just used a porcelain bunny and one of our wooden Ukrainian eggs instead.

And we dyed some eggs too.

I took Q out for a little drive in the afternoon so he could have a nap. We drove down King Street to Liberty Village and back along Queen.  I was happy I wasn't waiting in line at any of the grocery stores that day.  While we drove we listened to some Vinyl Cafe stories and Q did fall asleep for a little bit. 

Hamburgers on the BBQ for supper, and some Wobble game before bed.

We attended a Zoom birthday party after Q went to bed.  It was fun to see our friends, including some East Coasters who we would not have seen if the party had been in "real life".  

We woke up Easter morning to evidence of a visit from the Easter Bunny.  The bunny was a little light on the baskets this year, but he did leave bowls of treats for everyone, a few books for the boys, and eggs hidden all over the house.

Both boys were so excited!

We had some challah bread for breakfast, and I had some of our dyed eggs (that had been boiled before we decorated them) smashed on top, and some leftover potatoes.

Our church had put together a communion liturgy, gospel reading and commentary, a children's story, and lots of lovely music.  I got some partial participation for communion, but I listened to the most of the rest by myself in the afternoon.  I did give E a sip of wine, but he wasn't a fan.  

Then we got outside for a hike.  We're able to go along a trail in the woods and don't run into many people. 

In the afternoon we got our supper ready - ribs, sweet potato salad, and coleslaw.  Not a traditional Easter dinner but so good!! I may put this on the menu next year instead of regular old ham. 

E loved it!

And we had this beautiful cherry pie for dessert.

After supper we talked to my parents, my aunt, and my cousins on Zoom.  It was so nice to see everyone!!  

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter whatever you ended up doing.  

Weekend Recap

After being away last week from Tuesday to Thursday, going back to work on Friday felt like a Monday.  I had a pretty busy day but got home at a good time.  Mom had dinner all ready for us and made this King Cake (a New Orleans Mardi Gras treat) for dessert.  

Photo bomb!

Then we settled in for an exciting night of curling!  Seriously though we do like it.  Intense.

On Saturday morning I got up super early to drive Mom to the airport.  She had been scheduled to leave later that afternoon but because of the weather warning she was able to get on an earlier flight to avoid delays.   When I got home I got set up to register for the Toronto Rec programs.  I was not very successful though - the camp I wanted is not open for registration until tomorrow, and I got waitlisted for E's swimming and could only get my third choice.  Wish me luck tomorrow!

E ready for his last day of skiing.

Then I got some tunes on while Q and I cleaned up.

We decided to skip swimming and go up to watch E's races, so we packed our lunch and left about an hour after Dave and E.  

It was snowing up there but looked so nice and it wasn't very cold.   We arrived just in time to see E's first run.

Tuck to the end!

It was a slow course given the snow, but he did well. 

Back up on the chair lift.

Q was happy to watch people board the lift so we stood and did that for awhile.  Then we realized they needed to reset the course before the next run so we went inside for lunch.   Then back outside to watch the second run.  E did so well and came in second in his age group!  Great finish to the year. 

All of the racers.

Smiling proudly with his medal on the podium.

Q and I left after the second run and Dave and E stayed to the end, of course.  He called on the way home and suggested we order pizza, which sounded pretty good to me!  After supper we watched Spiderman Into the Spiderverse and then I was happy to go to bed early!!

On Sunday morning E went to t-ball assessments (where they figure out to make up the teams and distribute the talent) while Q and I went to church. 

We did chores, laundry, and homework after lunch.  When Q got up and heard I was going to the grocery store, he wanted to come with me. 

Pumped about those meatballs!

Despite our cold weather, spring is on the way!! This is E's painting he did last weekend with my mom.

Recipe - Brownies

I had a note on my phone to make something with marshmallows (after a couple of camping trips we have leftover s'more ingredients) so I thought I would try a brownie recipe with a twist - adding marshmallows and chocolate chips as a middle layer.

1 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup cocoa
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup marshmallows (I used large ones but you could use small ones)
1 cup chocolate chips (divided)
(You could also add nuts but then they wouldn't be safe for school!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl, set aside.

Add cocoa to a large bowl (you can sift it or just mix it with a whisk to get all of the lumps out).  Pour in melted butter, stir to combine.  Beat in sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  

Add dry ingredients to cocoa mixture.  Stir to combine. Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips. 

Grease a 9x13 inch pan, pour in half of the batter.  Top the batter with your marshmallows and the rest of the chocolate chips.   

Dot the rest of the batter on top, try covering the marshmallows as best as you can. 

Bake for 28-30 minutes. 

Not bad for the lunchbox or for a treat with my mid-afternoon coffee!

Recipe - Ice Cream Sandwiches

I really have no right calling this a "recipe", but it is fun to make and a nice treat for the summer time.


Earlier this week we made some ice cream sandwiches.  This what we did:


12 chocolate chip cookies.  I used the bakery ones from Sobeys.  You could make your own, the challenge is to get them nice and flat.
1 carton of ice cream. E chose Neapolitan, but I think I would prefer vanilla or mint chocolate chip
1/2 bag of mini chocolate chips

Place your cookie with bottom up. Scoop about 1/2 to 1 cup of ice cream onto the cookie, this will depend on the size of your cookies and how thick you want them, do what you like.  Top with another cookie. Squish them down and try to smooth out the edges with a spoon.



 (eek, blurry photo!)



Roll them in the mini chocolate chips.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for at least an hour. 

This is a messy job especially when your house is hot and the ice cream is melting as you build them, but it's fun and a good job for kids.

They aren't pretty, but they are good!



Weekend Recap

I didn't do a great job of documenting our weekend with pictures, but we did have a full weekend filled with friends and family - I'll try to do better next time.

On Friday night, I made this pizza. I didn't take a picture, but it did look just like the one from the recipe.  Making your own pizza sauce, this time from spinach and basil, is so easy and really elevates the flavour of the pizza.  By the way, it was nearly impossible to track down fresh basil last week, I went to at least four different stores, and finally ended up with a tube of pureed basil, and it was a fine substitution.

Dave went out on Friday night to watch the Raptors game at a hipster sports bar in the Junction.  It's okay though because he has new glasses and a plaid shirt, so he blended in well.  I had a productive night, did some cleaning, some blogging, and watched part of A Time to Kill, such a great movie.

Saturday morning we attempted a Swiss Roesti.

It did not come together as well as we would have liked, but I did salvage part of it to make my own version of the Charlotte Lane roesti.  Certainly not on the same level as Roland's, but he is from Switzerland so I'm pretty sure he can make them in his sleep.  (Charlotte Lane is a restaurant in my hometown and it is one of the best restaurants in Nova Scotia, no word of a lie.)

Roesti topped with cheese and friend egg

Then E and I were off to swimming.

We did some errands down the street - bread, meat, produce, and a coffee (of course!), and then I did head to the actual grocery store for some other items.  I was happy that Vector was on sale.

Dave's parents arrived late afternoon on their way home after being out west for Christmas.  I made chicken and dumplings and a fancy coleslaw (think belgian endive and radicchio rather than cabbage and carrots).  I also made this cake.  It too looked like the picture and tasted amazing!

Our table.

After E went to bed we watched Boyhood.  I took some selfies of Dave and I on the couch.

I really liked Boyhood, I haven't seen many of the other choices for Best Picture (aside from The Grand Budapest Hotel), but I could see that this could win.  I hope to catch a few more before the Oscars.

E and I went to church on Sunday. I was volunteering in the nursery but we were in church for the first part of the service.  The children always get their own bulletin (even those who can't read, like E), and a slip of paper with something on it that is their "offering".  This week it said "I am a disciple of Jesus".  When all of the kids were sitting at the front the minister asked "What sorts of things would a disciple do?"  The first kid said "believe in Jesus". And then E raised his hand and said "Shovel".  I don't know where he got that answer, but the minister was quick and agreed that disciples would do practical things like help others. I know I'm his mother but I do think it is quite remarkable that he is only 3 and already answering questions at church.  I was very proud.

In the afternoon, I made muffins with my little helper.

Dave went to the Raptors game, so we had some friends over for a playdate.  Then the boys came back and we had some dinner - pulled pork on buns, caesar salad and cake.

I don't want to talk about the Green Bay loss.

Some tulips I bought this weekend.  They are nice to brighten up the house but they do seem a little too "spring-y".  It is only January, and as much as I love summer, I am not really done with winter yet.