Basement Floors and Prosciutto Spirals

Well we were so busy today, all over the place looking at flooring for our basement and kitchen islands. It went really well, I think I have found my flooring...there is a sample downstairs lying there and every couple hours I go down there to take a look at it during diffent times of the day. The way the sun and light hits it changes the colour perception. So far I still think its the best we have had..but, I'll keep you posted!
I am so excited, tomorrow I am throwing a wine and cheese get together for the ringette mom's, plus two of my bestests! I decided to make it a celebration of one of the mom's 40th birthday. I hope all my recipes and cheese ideas turn out wonderful, I will take pictures and post them tomorrow. I decided to share one of my recipes on here just incase anyone is interested and wants to try something different.
PROSCIUTTO SPIRALS WITH BALSAMIC GLAZE

3/4 Cup of Balsamic vinegar
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 can of artichoke hearts in water, drained and coarsly chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped red onion
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
16 slices of prosciutto
2 cups of loosely packed arugula

1. Prepare glaze and filling
Simmer vinegar in saucepan over medium- high heat for 7-9 minutes or until reduced by half, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; pour into bowl and set aside. In another bowl whisk cream cheese until smooth. Add artichokes, onion and basil to bowl and mix well.

2. Assemble and refridgerate rolls
Lay sheet of plastic wrap on flat side of cutting board. Arrange four slices of prosciutto vertically over plastic wrap, overlapping slightly to form a 9" square. Spread 1/3 cup of the artichoke filling over prosciutto. Top with 1/2 cup of the arugula. Starting at side closest to you, tightly roll up prosciutto jelly roll style. Wrap in plastic wrap; refridgerate until ready to serve. Repeat three times for a total of 4 rolls.

3. Slice and Serve
Romove each roll from plastic wrap and slice into spirals for a total of 48 spirals. Place on serving platter and drizzle with glaze.

I hope that someone out there in blogger land tries this recipe and enjoys it as much as I will tomorrow evening!!

Looking at islands...not vacation spots!

Tomorrow Paul and I are heading out to look at islands for our kitchen. We renovated our kitchen a few months ago, and I just love my new cupboards. Well I also moved my kitchen table into our dining room, which I have never used before. It is so much more functional this way, but it has left a big open spot in out kitchen. I need to fill that spot and we kinda figured maybe an island with some seating might work well, then if the kids are just grabbing a quick bite to eat they can sit at the island. I have been looking at ideas, there are so many types. Hopefully tomorrow I can narrow down my options and come up with an idea. Our basement is so close to being finished, it looks amazing. When we first started some people thought we were taking living space away once we put a bedroom down there. In fact, the basement space is much bigger and the layout is so much better. We are looking at possibly putting a dry bar down there too..maybe a microwave and a bar fridge, some cupboards and a small bar table with stools. So many ideas, its exciting but alot of work. Kailey should be in her new room by June, she would like to have a "new room christening party". Maybe for graduation, we could tie two things in together a graduation sleepover and a new room christening!! Sounds perfect! We are going dress shopping in the states for grad dresses, i am sure it will be a great weekend. I am looking forward to it, the group of girls and mom's are the best, we always have lots of fun! They are some of the ringette girls, the nice thing is..we are use to spending weekends together in hotel rooms.Well, I am a bit lost for words tonight. I hope all of you are well and are getting ready for summer time!!

Easter Sunday 2010..

Finley and Harley by the pool, this is the time of year that poor FInley is so confused. She just loves the pool, and can't wait for swimming. Here she is just waiting for us to give her permission to go for a swim. She just figures because the weather is nice, and its warm out..that she can go swimming. Sorry finny girl, you gotta wait, its not time yet!!
What a great day yesterday was, I accomplished so much. Our day started out very early, probably the earlies easter sunday in about 5 years. Not to sure why, its not like the kids were dying to get up and search for their hidden eggs. Last year we decided to start a new family tradition just between Paul,Kailey,Braden and I..we enjoy making crepes, and thought maybe every easter sunday morning we would get up and have crepes for breakfast. So, the day before (once the stores we already closed) Kailey reminded me of our tradition, and I was like Oh S**t, I don't have anything here?! I ran to the fridge and found some strawberries, chipits and cool whip..I always have pancake mix because the kids make them for friends when they have sleepovers. We were in luck, at least we could manage some strawberry/chocolate crepes..it would be delightful.

We had so many laughs at breakfast, it was nice. Kinda weird that easter isn't about the chocolate egg hunts and toys anymore, but more about the history of easter, the reasons for it. The kids are searching for their own answers..talking to friends and family and they have genuine interest in it. I like this place in life, I like my kids and who they are becoming..conversations around the breakfast table are becoming so interesting.
After our crepes, I made a new bite size dessert called "Cake pop's".

They are so easy to make, I just wanted to try them, something different to serve at parties and get togethers.

They are so simple, I can actually explain it..first, you bake a cake any kind you like, I did the confetti cake because that is my family's favorite. Then you let it cool and take it out of the pan and crumble it into pieces as shown in my picture. Once you have done that you add about 3/4 can of cream cheese icing to the cake pieces and mix that well. Once its mixed, you roll the mixture into little individual bite size balls, I tried the egg shape in honour of easter. You have to put the balls in the fridge or freezer and let them harden slightly, do not freeze them. After that, you can melt your chocolate..which I just used chipits and I melted them in the microwave. I dipped half of the ball in chocolate and then added the stick, returned them to the fridge just to let them harden again.

You then take them from the fridge and dip them into white chocolate, and add your choice of sprinkles..


They turned out well, everyone seemed to enjoy them.

Nana was my biggest supporter, she always supports my ideas whether its food or crafts, she is always happy with my willingness to try.

Papa and Paul, decided to try one as well, and both of them were pleasantly surprised.

Here is Kailey enjoying her cake pop.

The biggest mistake I made was I made my cake pop's too big, mine were about 2 bite's...they were too sweet! I still had fun and will definately make them for the next event at the Martz home.
Dinner with mom and dad was wonderful. We had turkey,ham,potatoes, carrots and gravey..so much good food. I made some place settings for our easter table, they turned out great..everyone seemed to like them. They are cute, I painted small terracotta pots with chalk board paint, and added some flowers and rocks..then I used chalk to write the person's name on the pot. I was pretty impressed with my artist abilities. It was so beautiful out on Saturday, that I sat outside and made these pots while listening to music.
Later that evening Kailey had friend over for a sleepover, they rented a movie so I picked one up for Paul and I. It was a late night because both kids had friends over, Braden and his friend didn't go to bed until 2am...we are pretty tired today!!

Easter Sunday 1995..

I have a memory that was very strong today and every Easter Sunday that I would like to blog about..I am going to write about it as I remember it.

"Come on Chrissy, its time to go! Braden is sleeping he will be fine, we'll be back first thing in the morning and we'll celebrate Easter with him then. Its late, lets go back and go to bed."
I can't leave him..I am too sad, he is suppose to be home with us..the easter bunny is suppose to come, leave him eggs...will he ever get to do an easter egg hunt again?"
"I can't leave Paul, I'm too sad."
"He is sleeping, lets go. We'll be back in the morning."
I remeber standing at the side of his hospital bed, oh my god he was so little. He looked so peaceful, so still..I believe this was one of the worst nights of my life. I did not want to leave him, I wanted him with me..there is nothing worse than to not have control over a situation involving your child. At this point we were in ICU at MacMaster Hospital for 6 weeks. We were not having any signs at all from Braden showing us that he was going to recover from his injury. He still had not moved any part of his body except for his eyes..he was still trached and surving only for the sake of life support. I was devasted, this night was going to be a challenge for us. I was so angry, mostly at god...how dare he let this happen to me? Why didn't he try to stop the course of events from that day?
I sat crying at Braden's bedside until at least 12am, he was so beautiful and I felt so sorry for him not to mention the guilt that ripped through my body with every heart beat. This night was a low one, my thoughts were dark..its not a place I would want to visit frequently and I tried very hard not to be haunted by those negative perceptions.
It was the night of the Easter bunny visit, I couldn't have felt more lost or heart broken as I did then. I could not understand where my life was or even comprehend the sudden change in course of events. I was happy living my life before all of this, I loved my life and how dare this happen and change everything.
Finally Paul convinced me to leave, I stood at his hospital door it was now quiet in the ICU. The lights had been turned down, the nurses hushed their sick patients and settled them in for a night of rest. The air smelled of popcorn, sometimes the nurses popped some during night shift, they had chocolate eggs at their stations. Bradens constant nurse that night was Julie, she was a mother of 2 children both were just reaching their teenage years. Julie had become a great support to Paul and I, she learned to read my body language and tone of voice so she pretty much new that I was having a difficult time leaving Braden for the night. She approached me, hugged me tight and wished me well for the night. She made sure that I fully understood that she would keep a close eye on Braden, I knew he was in good hands. I did finally leave, I was exhausted...physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. When we got back to the ROnald MacDonald House, we had a drink in the kitchen and sat at the dining room table just to settle our minds before we retreated to bed. By then it was about 1am, and I still was not calming down or taking the night to lightly. We sat Paul and I just looking at eachother...no words to talk, we were out of things to say to one another. It was during that silence that I had lost all control...with my head down on the table I prayed so loudly, through tears streaming down my face..it hurt to breath, It was so hard to talk there was so much to say to God, I was desperate for answers..
"God, if you are there..please dear lord give me a sign." Please god, I can not do this anymore, I don't want to do this." Please god give me a sign that my baby is going to be ok, I don't understand why this has happened and I am running out of hope." I am so sad, I want my son back, I want him the way he was lord, Please heal him dear lord". If you hear my prayers then prove to me that you are there..dear lord give me a sign, please give me a sign".
You see for 6 weeks I had been praying and hoping for some improvement, we were not getting very far with his recovery and things were not progressing. I had figured with it being Easter and it being a time of love and hope, maybe just maybe we could get some answers.
Paul convinced me to go to bed, he helped me get to our room. I was barely able to walk due to fatigue and my swollen, red half closed eyes. Finally I fell asleep, waking briefly because I thought I had heard Braden running down the hallway. That happened alot, it was just anxiety and phantom sounds. It was a sound I was never going to hear again, it was hard to wake up and realize it was just a dream...
That morning when we were getting ready to go back to the hospital, things had settled and I had regained some strength. It didn't matter this morning about our situation..I was realizing that he was still here, and I needed to be thankful for that. This was only one Easter that we would be spending at the hospital. Let's suck it up and go make our son's easter absolutely amazing!! He deserved it, what an incredible baby boy!!
When we opened our room door to head out, we were so happily surprised to see some chocolate eggs and candies..the easter bunny came to us too, he left treats outside our door! It made me smile, my hopefulness was returning.
We walked to the hospital that morning, grabbed our coffee at the cafeteria and headed to ICU with many, many, easter treats for Braden. When we walked into Braden's room we were so shocked, it was marvelous..we had the best nursing staff you could ever ask for. Through the night his nurses decorated his hospital room with easter ribbons, easter treats and so many gifts. That boy was spoiled, he had a big smile and that meant more to me than anything else in the world. He was just beaming at us..with just using his eyes he made us follow his thoughts throughout that room. He guided us with those baby blues to every little egg he could see...it was glorious. We were blessed, I needed to be thankful for what I had. Even though I was enjoying the moment, I still in my heart was looking for that sign. I still had a feeling in my soul that I was searching for more, there needed to be answers.

I sat at his bedside with the railing down, we were playing with a little red truck. He smiled, and watched as I zoomed that car up and down his little chubby resting arm.
My mind was racing at this time, I was starting to feel restless again...flashbacks from the night before came rushing back instantly..my chest was feeling heavy, my throat hurt, and I could sense a panic attack fastly approaching.
Immediately I looked at Braden,
"Braden" I said with fierce determination and strength, again I called his name..
"Braden, touch mommy's nose", "Come on buddy, reach up and touch mommy's nose, come on Braden" "Get mommy's nose", Oh please Braden, just do it!! Come on Braden, please!
With sheer anguish and pain, I begged that baby to reach up and touch my nose.
Without hesitation or possible gravity pull....Braden remarkably reached up and touched my nose!!
This was my sign, no doubt in my mind this was my sign that I begged for just the night before. My prayers were heard and they were answered!! We were astonished, amazed and filled with a new hope, faith and inspiration.
About 4 weeks ago we were told Braden would never move again, and the only part of his body that would ever move was his eyes. We just proved the medical doctors wrong, we have something to work with..things are going to get better. Finally I got my sign, it was all I needed to continue on this journey.
We called in the doctors, they were shocked,thrilled and even some tears were shed by them. News flew through ICU, and we had many visitors which included specialists, neurosurgeons, physiotherapists and occupational therapists..they knew we had reason to rehabilitate this child, there is hope..where there is life, there is hope.
They did a repeat MRI, the following day because for medical reasons and test results Bradens new found movement is not suppose to be possible! My life changed again in that moment, it went from being so dark, hopeless and unfathomable to hopeful, breathtaking and miraculous. We were living our life, one day at a time..some days good and some not so good. But one thing I knew for sure, I wasn't living them alone. He was there..he gave me a sign.

Another beautiful day..

Ok so its 11:45pm and I almost forgot to blog. Tonights thoughts are short, mostly due to the fact that my eyes are barely open. Today was a great day, again the weather was fabulous. Paul and I were out and about, picking stuff up for tomorrow's dinner, Kailey was on the ice this evening so I met Colleen and we did a small bit of shopping. It was nice to see her again...I had withdrawls after we got home from Europe, spending 10 days together..it just became a habit looking over for her in the morning! I did the most amazing Easter dinner place setting for our dinner table. Tomorrow I will post pictures, I was so pleased with the outcome. I got the idea from Pottery Barn. I am also trying a dessert idea, its not really something that I would serve at a dinner party with friends, but it is certainly something I would do for one of Kailey's parties. Again, I will post the directions and pictures tomorrow. I have to get up early to get the turkey in the oven, I am looking forward to the smell that will over take my home, the good ole'turkey smell!! Tonight we as a family were all home, it was wonderful..I love when we are all here. We watched the Blind Side, with Sandra Bullock. I did see it at the theatre, but instantly fell in love with the movie, so we watched it with the kids and they too absolutely loved it! What a most fabulous family movie night.
We also went out to dinner this evening, Braden treated all of us to Red Lobster...so good! It was so grown up of him, we are very thankful for his generosity...he knows how much I love to have our family together so he kindly offered to take us out, including nana and papa. Thanks Braden, it was a great evening...we love you!!

The Hangover..

Today was easter at the Martz's, we had so much fun! The kids are getting so big, most of them are driving know, where has the time gone. Everyone looks good and everyone seems happy! The dinner was amazing, so yummy!Could you seriously believe the weather? We sat outside all afternoon and evening, we all got sunshine on our faces, we look so much more healthy with a nice glow sprinkled over our smiles. I took my one niece out to drive my standard car. She did fantastic, honestly she was so nervous and I thought for sure she would have stalled the car more than she did. It was her first time ever driving a standard, I was so impressed she caught on really quick, hopefully she keeps at it I so prefer driving standard...you seem to have more control over the car. The Martz's are such a big family, when I was younger I found that I was so intimdated by them..i didn't enjoy the family functions as much as I do now. It just seems so much more relaxing..there is no longer 12 young toddlers running around taking up time, energy and attention. Today things are so different, the kids are pretty much all at legal drinking age, most of them are driving and they all seem to have a great relationship with one another..considering they are all cousins. Unfortunately for Kailey..she is the baby and has trouble relating to them. The ones who still attend highschool at Southwood are pretty happy to have Kailey joining them next year, she is going to have alot of fun..she has lots of cousins there as well as her brother. Some of my neices and nephews bring boyfriends and girlfriends to these family functions..I feel sorry for the poor bastard that Kailey brings to dinner at the Martz's, considering all her uncles and male cousins...she is the baby!!
Well Paul and I stayed pretty late, had lots of laughs, drinks and food. We are know just chilling and watching the Hangover..so classic. Such a funny movie..I laugh everytime I watch it, best movie line ever..."Paging Dr. Faggot"...hilarious!

WOW...today was gorgeous!! What an amazing day. We started out at the gym, both Paul and I..we had a great workout. Next we had more people come through the house, just people who had to fix things..like the dishwasher and other things. I decided to head out at that time, you all know how I feel about having people in my house..absolutely hate it! I went shopping, got the best deals at H & M, then of course to American Eagle for the kids. I picked up some easter gifts for them, and found a few nice things for Paul. Braden and Paul were out this evening in Waterloo for some hockey event, Braden played on ice in his power wheelchair. This proved to be difficult due to his tires not having traction on the ice, he did alot of spin outs. I was kept busy with Kailey at the dentist, then she had a party to go to for 7pm...oh the life of a teenager! I am looking forward to the Martz's easter tomorrow, its nice to get together with them..always a good time! Sunday we are having my parents here, just a nice quiet dinner no company...just us! Other than that, we will be enjoying the weather this weekend, taking the dogs on some trails, maybe heading out for a drive, visiting with friends..all the wonderful things that long weekends have to offer! I hope all my humble readers, have a wonderful easter weekend, and get out there and enjoy the weather!!