Busy, busy, busy...

Today was an at-home day, mostly. Sundays are our day to get the bedrooms (especially Jaymi's) clean, make a batch of yogurt/bread/whatever I need to make for the week, get everything ready for school on Monday, and it is also our day to do a bunch of family stuff together.

Today was Super Bowl day, so Mark was gone for most of the day, at his friends' Super Bowl party. Jaymi and I made a list of things to do, and alternated between chores and fun stuff.

So, here is what we accomplished:

In the morning, Mark and Jaymi went to the fish store to get a new fish (the brand new one that Jaymi just picked out, died less than 12 hours after we brought it home - she discovered it just before walking out to go to school on Friday - reeeeeallly bad time to discover that her favourite fish was belly-up). The owner said that we need to adjust our PH level, so they're going back on Wednesday to get a new fish, after the levels are corrected.

I made a batch of yogurt for the week, and the artichoke dip that I always make for Mark's party.
Here is the recipe (courtesy of my mother-in-law - that's where I got the original recipe from):

Hot Artichoke Dip:
1 can artichoke hearts, drained, squeezed and chopped
1 cup mayonnaise (not light)
1 cup shredded Parmesan
2 pickled sliced jalapenos (no seeds), chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
Mix all, and bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes.
Garnish with green onions and chunks of tomato.
This year, I added some garnish of minced garlic as well, and fresh shaved parmesan.
I also usually double the recipe, and it fits perfectly in an oval casserole dish.

I cleaned my bedroom, Jaymi cleaned hers, I cleaned the kitchen, did a load of dishes, scrubbed the stove top, and did 3 loads of laundry.

This morning, Jaymi played pretend 'fair' with Mark and I, which involved going on a roller coaster, riding a ferris wheel, going to the snack vendor (which was eating breakfast), and going on the 'Mustang ride" (when they went to the fish store).
This afternoon, Jaymi brought me to her room after she had cleaned it, and showed me a pretend show, with her dancing to "La Vida Loca" . I joined in on the dancing for a few rounds as well.

We played Pictionary Junior.


Jaymi and I made mice out of Shredded Wheat and peanut butter, then ate some of them and packed some for her lunch tomorrow.

Here is the recipe:

In a medium bowl, stir together 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter and 1 tbsp liquid honey. Stir in 1 crumbled shredded wheat cereal biscuit (1/2 cup), 2 tbsp skim-milk powder and 1 tbsp sesame seeds. Form heaping tablespoonfuls of the mixture into mouse shapes (the original recipe was for bumblees). Press sliced almonds into sides of each bee for wings. Cut currants/raisins/dried blueberries in half, stick on mouse faces for eyes. We also used a fruit squiggle for a tail, although it didn't work very well.





We made invisible ink from lemon juice, and wrote message to each other (to look at later, when they dried, by holding them up to a light). That didn't work very well though. The lemon juice doesn't really disappear enough.



And Jaymi enjoyed some wonderful cuddle time with Cookie, while we were playing Pictionary.




One of the most fun parts of today, was the decision to have a really fun dinner. We decided to have chocolate chip pancakes for dinner!
Well, we had what have named poffles (pancake/waffle mix made with the ridged section of our panini maker - kind of a mix between waffles and pancakes). Yum!