Sleds + Sunsets

I'm cosy warm in bed and feeling grateful. I've decided anytime winter seems to much to bare, I will climb right back into this spot and look at out the snow, sparkling in all it's beauty while my girls quietly sleep. At least for this moment anyway. Lucy has a habit lately of yelling out in her sleep. She's particular almost to a fault, needing her blankets on her a certain way, a certain order and almost always right when I'm about to fall asleep. Sophia usually grumbles in a sleepy stupor "Lucy keeps waking me up" and then rolls back over, fast asleep while Isla cries out from her room, annoyed by the disturbance. The days are short but the nights are long surely applies to this situation.

The process of turning the girls into winter adventurers is well underway. I don't want to spend the next 6 months (just being realistic) locked up in the house so a little bit at a time, we are embracing the snow. Our friends gave us a couple sleds which made for the perfect late afternoon outing. We walked to the park, did a few runs down the hill, walked some more to the nearby ridge and watched the sun set. Aside from Isla's first run wipe out face down in the snow, we survived a whole hour outside without any complaining until we were five minutes from home. Our goal for this week is to find warm, functional mittens. The mittens are trying to take us down and I won't have it ;)

Recipe: Sugar Cookies

With Christmas just around the corner, it only seems appropriate to share our favourite sugar cookie recipe. I found the recipe over here and after making them for countless parties and holidays, I can say it is tried and true. These cookies never disappoint and are so soft and delicious. They truly converted me to loving sugar cookies, so much that I make sure to send most of them home with friends to avoid eating them all in one sitting. Here's what we do:

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 egg

2 teaspoons baking powder

3 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream soft butter and sugar in mixer until smooth. Add vanilla and egg. Mix. Combine flour and baking powder before adding to wet mixture. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix until stiff, then remove from mixer and finish kneading by hand. Dough does not need to be chilled (however it can be if you need to make it in advance). Roll to desired thickness, cut and bake for 6-8 minutes depending on the oven. Let cool and frost with royal icing. 

Tip for royal icing: I use two egg whites when I make my icing and the juice of one fresh lemon. In order to get the consistency I want, I slowly add water and stir after the initial mixing is done. Separate into bowls, add food color and pour into a container that has a screw on tip. I prefer the wide mouth Wilton ones from Michael's. Different tip sizes will allow you to alter your details on your cookies. Tooth picks are also very helpful for moving icing where you want it to go. Last thing, patience! Decorating cookies is not for the impatient.

Remembering

This afternoon we drove downtown to see a beautiful display of poppies on a local anglican church. It was the perfect opportunity to teach Sophia about peace, love and freedom. It's hard for her to understand war and why people would be so unkind. I want her growing mind to associate remembrance day with the blessings that came because of the sacrifices of others. I want her to stand proud as a Canadian and know that people out there were so proud of our country that they fought to keep it a safe and beautiful place. A place where we can go to church and be with our families. A place where we don't have to worry about being killed when walking down the street. A place where we can love freely and help others. All that we have on this earth remains because someone fought for it. I will continue to fight to keep her heart and mind open, so that she may always feel the peace given to her through the sacrifice of others.

My Sunshine Girls

Sharing a few pictures of the girls and I from our recent family pictures with Rebecca Rizzo Photographics. I won a giveaway on instagram in the early summer; perfect timing because we always plan to do our pictures for our anniversary at the end of August. Knowing we'd be leaving the beautiful PNW shortly after, we decided to go up in the gorge to take our pictures. Rebecca suggested the Women's Forum and all these pictures do is make me wonder how we left. 

It's been really great moving to Calgary. Despite missing the mild weather, I've had so many experiences that confirm to me we are exactly where we need to be. It is crazy how life went from being pretty low key to feeling very full all of a sudden. I never understood why women needed a day planner until now when I can't keep any dates straight. It'll be interesting to see how it all changes again come December when I go back to work but until then I will be filling our days with adventure. I am excited. I am grateful. I am trying really hard not to put up all our Christmas decorations.

Trick or Treat

It was a successful night of trick or treating. We have enough candy to last us through the end of the year and I now feel ready when guests come to our house needing a treat. I hate when someone comes over and I have nothing tasty to offer them. I mean, cucumbers and yogurt drinks just don't really cut it. We went out as a family for the first hour before the numbers narrowed down to just Sophia and I. It was fun to meet up with friends and walk the neighborhood together. I love seeing the girls form friendships that will hopefully carry on through the years. 

Everything went pretty smooth until we got to a few spooky houses. The "spooky" side of Halloween doesn't really appeal to me because it's mostly kids collecting candy who don't enjoy the feeling of being scared. Lucy insisted on going home after a lady had one of those candy bowls that grabbed her hand when she reached to grab a treat. Like, why? Sophia on the other hand wasn't super phased but insisted I come to the door with her for a few houses. My favorite houses were the ones that had their Christmas lights turned on with their Halloween decor and she would yell "MOM LOOK AT THE RAINBOW LIGHTS." I long to see the world in the simple way she does. We finally called it a night when she looked at me with tired eyes and said I think we have enough candy Mom. Not sure whose child she is but home we went. Until next Halloween!