What exactly Cookie Monster can possibly do to terrorize a 4yr olds dreamland experience is beyond me.  However, somewhere in the wee hours of this morning, after being wrenched from my sleep, for around the fourth time in 3 hours, by screams for help, I clumsily ricocheted up the hallway to find out what type of dreamland perils Grace was experiencing this time.  As I struggled to focus my eyes so as not to fall victim to the various snares laid out in what we call "Grace's Cave" I whispered an enquiry into the shadows as to what it's occupant was in need of.  The question was met with a very fretful inquisition as to whether or not the Cookie Monster was real, and with all the agitation that a sleepless night can bring, I was struck dumb.  Reaching very, very deep within myself and mustering any semblance of patience I could find I replied "Of course not, honey, he's like Big Bird or Elmo".  For a second she was silent and I thought she had drifted off again, but then in a semi-conscious murmur she replied "well, I just had a dream about him, and he sure didn't act like Elmo."  Mildly amused and wholeheartedly interested I asked what her dream had been about, to which she rolled over, yawned a long dramatic yawn, informed me in a sleepy whisper that she just didn't want to talk about it and instantly fell back to sleep.  Leaving me to fumble my way back to bed in the dark, conjuring up all manner of terrifying images of the methods of torture Cookie Monster might inflict on his pray.

FIRST BIKE RIDE OF THE SEASON (THE SWEATER GRACE IS WEARING WAS KNIT BY HER GREAT AUNT AND HAS AN EXACT PICTURE OF HICCUP WITH HIS NAME ABOVE KNIT INTO  IT, A VERY SPECIAL TREASURE!)

BETHANY HAVING HER FIRST EVER BIKE RIDE AND WANTING TO GET THE SHOW BACK ON THE ROAD

I've been exercising my brain by way of playing with some creative writing these days.  This is something I have not dabbled in since highschool, and I've found my head swimming with all sorts of writing ideas.  Some might say that that is a good thing, however, I seem to be having trouble channelling my thoughts, adopting a more ADD type approach, and have hoards of tiny scraps of paper with a paragraph here and a limerick there, none of which add up or pertain to anything else.  My nature is to be somewhat over analytical while being scatterbrained tends to lye just under it's surface and I've come to the realisation that I often function better when I forgo the over analytical characteristic and run with the latter.  In any event, most of my scribblings are not likely to ever see the light of day, but perhaps in time something will emerge worth sharing.  In any event there is something very theraputic about putting pen to paper, and I've been really enjoying it.

THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SNOW BUSINESS!

This past week we have fallen back into a pattern of sleepless nights as we all seem to be experiencing a relapse of whatever illness has plagued us for the past month.  We've been hearing that it is a particularly difficult cold to get rid of and our girls seem to be struggling the most with it here.  Between fits of coughing, low grade temperatures and very little appetite, it has made them quite miserable, but they seem to be slowly coming around again.

Today being a storm day had rendered Grace quite "boooarrrd" so we decided to attempt a new craft idea that was shared with us.  The idea is to mix a Paper Mache glue and dip lengths of string in it, then drape it over an inflated balloon.  When the glue dries you pop the balloon and have a "String Mache" Easter egg. It was very messy, but very fun and occupied Grace for quite awhile, until she decided to use her goopy strings as a lasso and began swinging them in the air, thus flinging the messy mixture all over the house.  Once I quashed this genius idea, she decided that I could finish the craft on my own.  She then spent the afternoon at her cousins house playing office and making sugar cookies, as I left from dropping her off, she was sitting in front of 3 very incriminating young ladies putting her signature on some "very important documents".

THE MAKINGS OF A MACHE EGG

Jamie has finished up in the woods for the season and is preparing to clean the barns out and spread manure on the land.  We are waiting anxiously for the coming calving season as we are expecting about 40 calves to arrive quite soon.  Lately much of our daily conversation revolves around building our new home this summer, and how we might promote the sale of our mini home.  Grace and I have gotten a couple of "horsey days" in, getting to spend time grooming and playing with Hiccup and the girls, we are both looking forward to an improvement in the weather so we can begin our training projects.  Grace has several goals for her and Hiccup this year, being able to take him on a trail ride with me leading them, to build him an extreme obstacle course "sea of balls" included and to teach him to play with her and their yoga ball.  Just getting him to walk within 30ft of the yoga ball will be an accomplishment in my eyes, but Grace is dreaming big.  She also wants to take him to a couple of fun shows this summer, so we have our work cut out for us.  Our 3yr old filly "Fuse" will also be started under saddle this summer and I am very excited to spend time with my mature mare "Pixel", who at 10 yrs old has still not finished her training, due to so many interruptions and time off what with other horsey projects and of course my taking time off to have the girls.  All and all our family is looking forward to the coming summer, with temperatures at 25 degrees earlier this week, it seemed to be upon us, until this snowy, -6 degrees of cold winter reality threw itself back on us.

CARROTS FROM A FRIEND

That about sums us up for the week in a nutshell, for any frequent followers to my blog, my aim from now on is to update on Monday of every week, unless my mood, or circumstances cause me to stick in an extra post here or there.  Have a wonderful week everyone, keep on the sunny side of life!

RECIPE:

Beansprout Soup

This is a new, low calorie recipe for our family which we all really enjoyed, a mildly flavoured soup with a bit of fresh garlic and just a pinch of chili peppers, even Grace (who won't even use pepper) enjoyed it.

1 and 1 1/2 packages Beansprouts
1/3 cup finely diced white Onion
1 large Celery stalk finely diced
2 large Carrots finely diced
1 Baby Bok Choy diced small
1 Pork Steak cooked and diced small
3 litres of water
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
2 Cloves garlic minced
1/2 to 1 tsp chili flakes (or to taste)
Salt to taste (keep in mind that Soy Sauce adds salt)

After cooking and dicing Pork Steak, add all other ingredients to the pot with water and Soy Sauce, let simmer 30 - 40 minutes, can be served warm or cold. ( The recipe I created my version from did not have any meat, this may play a roll in whether you serve it warm or cold)