Saturday Songs That Make US Sing Blog Hop! Siksika Nation. The Calgary Stampede. The floods of Alberta...

Tomorrow morning a group of friends and I are heading about 1 hour out of Calgary, Alberta, Canada to support the people of the Siksika Nation.  

The flood waters affected sooooooo many people in Calgary and surrounding areas and one of the HARDEST hit, were the people of the Siksika Nation Reserve.  This is not the time, nor the place to express how some communities have received less news coverage than others BUT what I will say is that the out pour of support from people has been overwhelming...once the devastation of this particular community was known.  

And so, off we head to a little known community to help them organize and manage all the donations they have received over the past few days.  While donations are greatly needed and appreciated a BIG part of that process is organizing all the "stuff" so that it can effectively and proficiently, get to the people in need.  And while manual, hard labor of physical clean-up is NOT one of my strengths, anal retentive organization just happens to be one of my strong skills! ;)

 You don't need to be a blogger to post your favorite song of the week you know.  Just head toyoutube.com and find the song you are singing, copy and paste the www. address below in the link box and add your name to the name box.  DONE!  You'll be officially part of the cool crowd, ok, not the cool crowd but of THIS cool party!  Come on...link up a tune for me to sing to too!

Come join me and Becca from Because I'm the Mommy and link up to our Playlist of songs that make US sing!  Here are just a few guidelines or at this point...forget the "rules" and just link up!!!

1. Please Join the TWO of "Us" (we're so much more than just songs...LOL) If you're a new joiner please leave us a comment so we can join you back!

2. Pick A Song...any song that makes you wanna sing! Old-New-Country-Pop-Punk...anything goes. (Let's try to keep it family friendly if we can...LOL) If you want, tell us why the song makes you wanna SING!

3. Add your link to the "Playlist"

4. We'd REALLY like you to copy the Linky Code (just click on "get the code") in to your post so your blogger buds can join in on the fun or link back to the both of us so they can at least "find" the party, but you don't have to.

5. We'd love to see the video of your song (which can easily be shared via youtube.com) but if you just wanna list your favorite song of the day, we're "cool" with that too!  

I am playing a collections of music set to pictures of this great community to help bring awareness to the enormity of the devastation these people AND so many people in Alberta are facing after the great flood of 2013!!

Oh!  And just for the record....Calgary ain't gonna let a little HIGH WATER stop the Stampede from happin'!  It was ALSO one of the hardest hit places in Alberta and with only 5 days until the start of this 100 year tradition...Calgary works to make sure it is NOT something else that will be "taken" from it's people!

There is a LOT of talk about how this should be the LEAST of our concerns but personally, I couldn't disagree more!  

The Calgary Stampede is a BIG part of who we are and what we stand for and as far as I am concerned, we'll be damned if Mother $%^&*'in Nature is gonna keep us down!  

Bravo to this young lady and her BE-utiful voice for telling it like it is.  Whether you agree or disagree...

Saturday Songs That Make US Sing Link Up! An Oldie...

...but goodie!  This song brings me back to a time when I use to sit around with my University buddies getting lost in the unknown of our futures!

You don't need to be a blogger to post your favorite song of the week you know.  Just head toyoutube.com and find the song you are singing, copy and paste the www. address below in the link box and add your name to the name box.  DONE!  You'll be officially part of the cool crowd, ok, not the cool crowd but of THIS cool party!  Come on...link up a tune for me to sing to too!

Come join me and Becca from Because I'm the Mommy and link up to our Playlist of songs that make US sing!  Here are just a few guidelines or at this point...forget the "rules" and just link up!!!

1. Please Join the TWO of "Us" (we're so much more than just songs...LOL) If you're a new joiner please leave us a comment so we can join you back!

2. Pick A Song...any song that makes you wanna sing! Old-New-Country-Pop-Punk...anything goes. (Let's try to keep it family friendly if we can...LOL) If you want, tell us why the song makes you wanna SING!

3. Add your link to the "Playlist"

4. We'd REALLY like you to copy the Linky Code (just click on "get the code") in to your post so your blogger buds can join in on the fun or link back to the both of us so they can at least "find" the party, but you don't have to.

5. We'd love to see the video of your song (which can easily be shared via youtube.com) but if you just wanna list your favorite song of the day, we're "cool" with that too!  

By the way, we all turned out pretty good I think!  LOL!

2013 Calgary and Surrounding Areas Flooded. Devastating Photos..

Parts of Calgary and surrounding areas are under water.  This is the worst flooding our Province has seen.  As pictures get posted to Facebook and on the Internet, it's truly unbelievable the destruction and devastation so many people and all of us as a City are facing.  It's heartbreaking to think of all the clean-up and rebuilding that will be needed in the days, months and possibly years to come.

My family and I are safely perched on one of the highest grounds in Calgary so it seems almost unreal from where we sit.  Pictures are the only thing that keeps us grounded in reality of what is really happening out there.

I leave you with an accumulation of photos that have been shared via the Internet over the last 24 hours.  Please send your prayers our way and to all the people that have been displaced...

DOWNTOWN CALGARY

The red area is a tunnel for our C-Trains

HIGH RIVER, AB

  

TRANS CANADA HWY 1 NEAR CANMORE, AB

 THE CALGARY ZOO

OKOTOKS

HWY 22 BETWEEN BLACK DIAMOND AND TURNER VALLEY

BRAGG CREEK

 One thing is for certain....Mother Nature can knock us down but together as a community, we WILL get right back up!

A NEW Twist on Bacon & Eggs & Toast.

I am linking up with Mama Kat for her Pretty Much World Famous Workshop.

Assignment:   Pinterest inspired! Share something you recently tried from your Pinterest boards.

I am an off again.  On again.  Kinda Pinner.  It just so happens that I tried TWO "pins" this last week.  The first was Candied Bacon Fudge that I already blogged about right before Father's Day and the second was THIS new spin on Bacon & Eggs & Toast.  YUMMY!

What you will need:
Bread
Bacon
Eggs- size small to medium (large and extra large are too big)
Shredded Cheese
Pam Spray
Muffin Tin
Small Cup (to cut out bread circles)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray muffin tin with Pam.

Cut out bread using a small cup, roughly the size of the bottom of a muffin tin cup.

Place these bread circles in the bottom of the muffin cups.

Curl bacon around the sides of the muffin cups.  Note:  Here is where I could totally improve on the recipe...next time I am going to precook the bacon in the microwave for a few minutes as I  overcook my eggs to ensure the bacon got crisp (see below)

Break open an egg into each muffin cup.  Season with Salt n' Pepper.

Sprinkle a little (or lots) of cheese on top...

 Place the muffin tin on a baking sheet (to catch any over drips) and then bake until the bacon is crisp and your eggs are done to your liking. For soft eggs, should only take about 15-20 minutes.

HERE IS WHERE I EXPERIENCED A SEMI-EPIC FAIL.  Because I didn't precook the bacon, I had to bake these things WAY to long to ensure the bacon was done.  This caused my eggs to overcook and well, here is the result of THAT...

Ideally, the bread on the bottom toasts nicely, the egg is cooked so it is still runny (that's how we like our eggs 'round here) and the bacon is crispy.

It still tasted really good despite it's appearance...I swear!

I would have to rate this PIN ATTEMPT as a "Semi-Nailed It!" experience...LMAO!

Go Get Your Inspiration On...

Cool Beds. Gro Clocks. Video Monitors. Waiting....

For us, those were the "key" things for transitioning our 3 year old twins from cribs to toddler beds.

I often see messages on chat boards about how to transition children from cribs to beds so, I decided to throw this post together so I could add my .02 to the conversations from now on.  Because as you know, I ALWAYS have SOMETHING to say about EVERYTHING...LOL!

In all seriousness, I hope this might be helpful to parents in the beginning "thoughts" of the BIG transition from cribs to beds...

WAITING

Out of ALL those things, WAITING was probably the most important.  We didn't have monkeys.  Ave & Bryce loved their cribs and I am pretty sure they would have comfortably stayed in them for another 3 years and we would have had no concerns with that EXCEPT that we travel.  A Lot.  And playpens are no longer an option for sleeping arrangements for the kids when we are visiting others.  They, unfortunately, are too big for them now.  When other parents ask my opinion about moving their children to beds, the first thing I always say is keep them in a crib as long as possible.  It is a comfy, safe "cage" sleeping environment for them and if there is no immediate "need" to have them in beds, why rush it??  After all, they've got the rest of their lives to sleep in beds.  LOL!

Since our travelling plans this summer dictated our "need" to make the move, we started the transition from cribs to toddler beds almost 2 months ago and it has been one of the easiest transitions so far in their short little lives.  I think that is because we gave it some serious thought and planning before jumping into the unknown abyss of giving them free reign in their bedrooms.

BEDS

For our kids, that meant really COOL BEDS & PUMPING UP the big transition a few days before.

Bryce fell in love with his CAR BED instantly.  I know if I had one of these I wouldn't want to get out of bed either!

Ave loves Princesses and so we totally pumped up this "Princess Dollhouse" bed.  Her eyes could have lit up her dark room with the excitement she felt for her own princess bed...

Whatever bed you choose for your little one, I highly recommend keeping the crib up (if room permits) for TWO reasons.  #1- If the child struggles with the transition and prefers the crib, it is there for them to use.  Some kids might be apprehensive to move to a BIG bed and having the crib there may make them more comfortable.  #2- If the child decides not to follow the expectation of remaining in their new BIG KID bed, then the rule is that they need to sleep in their crib until they are ready to "follow the rules" (We kept ours set up more for this reason rather than the first.)  After the second week, we took the cribs down.

GRO-CLOCKS- This is a  MUST (in my opinion)!

These little things carry a big price tag ($50/each) but they carry an even bigger benefit.  You can set these things to "wake up" anytime you like.  We set ours for 7:00am.  There is a cool feature where you can set a time for naps and weekends but we've kept it simple...so far!

The kids say "Good Night" to the sun and they know that they can not get out of their bed or make excessive noise until the sun "wakes up" in the morning.  Works like a charm!  We took it one step further and made the rule that they can call out for mommy and daddy when the sun "wakes up" but they still can't leave their beds until we come in to get them officially up.  Again, works like a charm!

Here is Bryce ALERTING me to the fact that it is 7:00am and that THE SUN IS UP!!!  LMAO!

PLAYING BIG BROTHER- Video Monitors

I purchased video monitors shortly after the kids turned two in anticipation of the transition from cribs to beds.  I was not keen on the idea of having to run up and down our two storey home to put my little munchkins back into bed every couple minutes (as it turned out, that wasn't the case but I wasn't taking any chances).

The couple of times, make that exactly 2 times my son has got out of bed, I simply pressed a button on the video monitor and told him to get is butt asked him to please get back into bed.  Once he figured out I had "eyes" on him, no further escapes have been attempted...LOL!

In the next week or two, these video monitors will come in handy as we will begin our transition from pull-ups to underwear and the whole rule of "you must stay in your bed" will now become, "unless you have to use the washroom".  This one, I think, will be challenging but again I have no intentions of running up and down those darn stairs...I'll keep you all posted on how THAT goes!

Anywho, these are few points of interest for parents heading into that often dreaded transition from cribs to beds and I am hear to say that it doesn't have to be a challenge.  Just a little planning ahead & some clear expectations can help make it smooth for everyone!  

GOOD LUCK!

Fevers. Hot Days. A MUST HAVE!!!

So, we just got over two kidlets with raging fevers last week and  I am 99.9% sure I would have been in the emergency room without my trusty rusty Arctic Bandannas!  (For my Canadian friends, THESE seem to be the same idea and are available at Home Depot.  I also just got word from a reader that these are available at Mark's Work Wearhouse!)

These things were developed for the outdoor-sie person in mind but I have found a far more useful application for them since we are not outdoor-sie people another way for these things to come in handy...when my kids get fevers.

Along with a strict medication schedule of alternating Tylenol and Advil, I stick these babies around their little necks and switch them off every 15 minutes or so, depending on how "hot" they are running.  I have been constantly able to break a fever in less than 1/2 hour.  Honestly, it's these little inventions that get the fever under control and the meds I give are to make sure IT STAYS under control.

Since hot days are not the "norm" here in Calgary, we haven't had to use them for sun relief but they will be one of the first things packed into our bags when we head to Southern Ontario this summer!!

How do they work?  It's as simple as 1, 2, 3!!!

Step One- Place the Bandanna in a bowl of cold water.  After 15-20 minutes or so, the beads inside will have absorbed the water and it will feel all "jelly-like" and cool to the touch.

It will double in size when it is ready to go!

Step Two- Place around the child's neck and wait for the MAGIC to happen (the magic I speak of is the fever coming down in 15 minutes...{just in case you missed that above}...LOL!).

Step Three- When all the "sickness" has passed, simply let it dry out on the counter and it will return to it's original state!  Repeat as necessary. (I've had this one for 2 years and can;t tell you how many fevers it has soothed!)

Note: In the event you don't own 4 like me, it only takes a minute or two to cool down a Bandanna that is warmed in a cold bowl of water.  

(Hmmmm...I guess I really DON'T need that many!!!)

Happy Father's Day to TWO of the BEST Dad's I Know...

This is an oldie but goodie so, I am republishing it to honor my husband and daddy...TWO of the best dads I know!!!

They say a girl tends to marry someone much like her Father and I am proud to say that I sure did!  WAIT!  Don’t be too quick to say “Ahhhhh…that’s sweet!”  I did marry a man just like my dad…the good, the bad & the ugly!  (Mostly good though!)

This is my Dad!  Actually, I still call him Daddy at the age of 37 and he still calls me “Baby” (yes, I am the youngest and the “favorite”…LOL) and I cherish this!  So many of my friends get a “kick” out of our interactions because when we are engaged happily it is the most loving, caring thing to watch but when we are at “odds” fireworks and daggers ensue…but no matter what, we will always be “Daddy & Baby”!

 

This is my Husband!  Actually, I like to call him Sweetie and he calls be “Bum” (endearingly, of course). So many of my friends get a “kick” out of our interactions because when we are engaged happily it is the most loving, caring thing to watch but when we are at “odds” fireworks and daggers ensue…but no matter what, we will always be “Sweetie & Bum”!

 

This is my Dad and Husband!  No.  No he is NOT his biological son, I am my daddy’s baby but they sure do look a lot alike don’t they?  Eerie…I know! LOL

 

These are the two most important men in my life and they always will be! (My son Bryce will always be my most important “young man”)  It really is amazing how similar my dad and husband are…they DO have some differences but mostly similarities. Here are just few... 

• I am happy that they love me unconditionally, regardless of how many times I have “totaled” the vehicle or said something that I regret. 
• I love that we love each other so much that they can drive me CRAZY and to the point of delusional rage (ok, slight exaggeration).  Perhaps,  I love it more that this brings us closer together rather than drive us further apart. 
• I love that they protect me and stand up for me even when they shouldn’t. 
• I love that all they have to do is give me that special “look”, the one that is ONLY meant for ME and a great BIG hug and the troubles of my day, week, month or year just disappears, if only for the moment. 
• I love that they are hard-working providers that indulge me from time to time with “things” I don’t really need but REALLY want. 
• I love that they always support and find value in my dreams and life endeavors, despite how absurd they may be.
• Above all else, I love that they love my children with every sole of their being and that they will make them feel as special and loved (and crazy at times) as I do.

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have had a man like this in my life from the time I came into the world and now one until my time on earth comes to an end.  I can only hope that Ave finds a man just like her Daddy & Grampa, so she can feel the love and security that I have and continue to feel and I pray that through their example, Bryce will grow into the same wonderful husband, father and grampa.

I LOVE my Daddy and I LOVE my Baby Daddy so very much!

Happy Father’s Day to all the GREAT Dad’s out there and here's a big "shout-out" to all the lucky “gals” like me!!

Songs That Make US Sing Link Up! I am not embarrassed to admit...

...that I totally LOVE Taylor Swift!  I think her music is catchy, wholesome and it never fails...it makes me SING!!!

You don't need to be a blogger to post your favorite song of the week you know.  Just head toyoutube.com and find the song you are singing, copy and paste the www. address below in the link box and add your name to the name box.  DONE!  You'll be officially part of the cool crowd, ok, not the cool crowd but of THIS cool party!  Come on...link up a tune for me to sing to too!

Come join me and Becca from Because I'm the Mommy (she "called" me this week to let me know she'll be a little late to the party BUT she WILL be here!!!) and link up to our Playlist of songs that make US sing!  Here are just a few guidelines or at this point...forget the "rules" and just link up!!!

1. Please Join the TWO of "Us" (we're so much more than just songs...LOL) If you're a new joiner please leave us a comment so we can join you back!

2. Pick A Song...any song that makes you wanna sing! Old-New-Country-Pop-Punk...anything goes. (Let's try to keep it family friendly if we can...LOL) If you want, tell us why the song makes you wanna SING!

3. Add your link to the "Playlist"

4. We'd REALLY like you to copy the Linky Code (just click on "get the code") in to your post so your blogger buds can join in on the fun or link back to the both of us so they can at least "find" the party, but you don't have to.

5. We'd love to see the video of your song (which can easily be shared via youtube.com) but if you just wanna list your favorite song of the day, we're "cool" with that too!  

In 3 weeks and 3 days I will be on a greatly anticipated Girlz WEEK LONG Getaway to the East coast.  I am sooooooooo excited!  Like, "pee in my pants" (almost) excited!

This will be the first time in 3 1/2 years that I will be away from my children for that long AND away with my besties!!  (Thanks mom and dad and Aunt Chery for watching the kidlets)  

I just know that it's gonna be a total blast.  

We're gonna feel like we're 22 again...

A Fail-Proof Father's Day Gift!!!

What man (or woman for that matter) doesn't LOVE bacon and chocolate?!?!?!  Combine them together and what do you get??

Candied Bacon Fudge...a fail-proof (homemade) Father's Day gift for those special men in your lives!

It's really easy, just a little time consuming BUT I managed to whip this together in between tending to a fevered child, serving breakfast TWICE (long story) and having coffee with a girlfriend.  Ya.  I'm kind of a Super-Mom...today!  LMAO!

Candied Bacon Fudge

12 Strips of raw bacon

½ cup brown sugar

3 cups white sugar

2/3 cups of evaporated milk

¾ cup of butter

12 squares of semi-sweet baking chocolate, chopped

1 jar of marshmallow crème

1 tbsp. vanilla

To Make the Candy Bacon: Coat raw bacon with brown sugar and bake in oven at 350 degrees until crispy being careful not to burn. Remove and cool.

To prepare fudge: Combine sugar, butter and evaporated milk in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 4 minutes or until a candy thermometer reads 234 degrees F, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add chocolate, marshmallow crème and vanilla; stir until completely blended and chocolate is melted.

Line a 4 1/2-inch x 9-inch loaf pan with foil or baking paper, extending foil over edges of pan.  Arrange 3 strips candied bacon in bottom of lined baking pan; top with of the fudge. Repeat with 2 more layers of bacon and fudge. Cover and refrigerate for until firm. 

Note: With the extra fudge mixture and 3 pieces of bacon…line a second loaf pan, pour fudge in and crumble bacon and stir in (Now you have one for YOU!)

I EVEN had time to take some pictures of the process for those of you who may be visual, like me!

1. Line a loaf pan with foil or wax paper. (I also gave it a quick spray of Pam to avoid sticking)

2. Coat 12 pieces of bacon with brown sugar and bake in an oven at 350 degrees until crisp...be careful not to burn them like I did to 4 pieces!

3. Once the bacon is cooked, set aside to cool and begin the fudge mixture by bringing the milk, white sugar and butter to a boil.  Be sure to STIR CONSTANTLY for about 4-5 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and stir in the marshmallow creme, chocolate and vanilla until all is combined.  This requires quite a bit if elbow-grease and takes a few minutes.

5. Place 3 strips of candied bacon on the bottom of the loaf pan.

6. Pour fudge mixture over top to cover and a bit more then place 3 more strips of bacon and pour more fudge on top then 3 more strips of bacon and pour enough fudge mixture to fill the loaf pan.

7. So, you are likely gonna have some fudge mixture leftover so quickly line another loaf pan with wax paper (or be prepared and have one pre-lined) and pour the remaining fudge into this loaf pan, crumble the extra 3 pieces of bacon you have and give it a little mix and now you have some for yourself!!   (You're welcome..LOL!)

8. For an added touch, I printed out the recipe and mounted it to card stock...

...attached them to gift bags and stuffed them with tissue.  

VOILA!  A Fail-Proof Father's Day Gift!!!

Happy Father's Day to all those GREAT Dad's out there!  

P.S.  I wished you lived closer daddy because I know you would have LOVED this! xoxoxo