Boys

I’ve always wanted a little girl.  A little mini-me to mould into a strong, smart and caring adult and a confidant to take along on shopping trips who understands the value of a pretty little dress.

I have 2 boys.  2 boys, 10 years apart in age and funnily enough, both who don’t wear pretty little outfits that swing up when they turn around.  Running shoes are more their speed.

We went on a family road trip for my older son Eric’s hockey tournament last weekend and had lots of fun doing boy things.  We arrived at our destination early so we went to the nearest mall to pass some time.  We by passed windows of beautiful colour and style and found ourselves inside a sports store.  We purchased a mini basketball net for inside the hotel room because if there’s down time in between the 53 hockey games scheduled over the next 3 days what would they do if they didn’t have another sport to pass the time?  After we left the sports store I hinted at hitting another girl friendly shop and my son said, “mom, we have all weekend, you should save some shopping excitement for tomorrow.”  So we grabbed a quick lunch instead and the only opportunity I had to go shopping for the rest of the weekend was to grab more Gatorade and fulfill snack requests for items we didn’t seem to already have in the room.

I must admit, the boys do provide lots of entertainment.  At the restaurant Eric was very impressed with the glass his chocolate milk was served in.  It was a glass that was curved like the leaning tower of Pisa but you could barely tell it was chocolate milk as it was just off-white in colour rather than a rich chocolaty hue.  He apprehensively took his first sip through the straw and exclaimed, “100% for presentation, 0% flavour.”

We also had my 2yr. old asking us, “can I have a Jeffrey, can I have a Jeffrey?”  What on earth did he mean?  We came to find out Eric was eating a big chocolate chip muffin and when Carter asked what it was.  He told him, “it’s a Jeffrey”, knowing full well of his current stage of learning the proper names of things.

All in all it was a great weekend.  Carter loved watching his big brother play hockey and was a patient angel in between games.  I think he’s got the hockey bug in him now too.

Of course I love watching the games, hanging out with my boys and playing a game of 21 (mini basketball) or two.  Having grown up with no sisters myself, I know deep down I wouldn’t know what to do with a little girl after our shopping trip was over so I suppose all is as it should be.

O.K. time to make some baby food.

My 2 year old LOVES broccoli and cauliflower.  I think it may have to do with the fact that I made recipes like below for him as a baby all the time.  I didn’t however make Eric’s baby food way back when and now he is revolted by the sight of broccoli.  Hmmm?

Ready…Set…Evolve…

Veggie and Cheese Medley

Age – 6 months +

Ingredients

·         2 carrots

·         ¾ cup frozen peas

·         3 cups chopped broccoli

·         3 cups chopped cauliflower

Cheese Sauce

·         1 tbsp. of butter

·         1 tbsp. of flour

·         1 ½ cups of milk

·         ¾ cups medium cheddar shredded

Baby Steps

1.      Peel, clean and chop veggies

2.      Add carrots to a steamer set over boiling water and cook for 5 minutes.

3.      Add broccoli and cauliflower and continue to cook for another 10 minutes.

4.      While veggies are steaming you can make the cheese sauce.

5.      Melt butter in medium sized pan and add in the flour.  Stir until it forms a smooth paste.

6.      Add in milk and stir until there are no lumps and the milk starts to thicken.  Approx. 3 minutes.

7.      Add in cheese and stir until melted and sauce is smooth and creamy.

8.      Once the 10 minutes of steaming is up after adding the broccoli and cauliflower, add in the peas and cook for 3 more minutes.

9.      Remove veggies from heat and transfer to a food processor, blender or bowl to use a hand held blender to puree.

10.  Add in cheese sauce and some of the cooking water 1 tbsp. at a time and puree to a smooth consistency.

11.  Let cool for a few minutes then transfer to freezing trays in the freezer to use within 3 months or to food storage containers in the fridge to use within 48 hours.

Makes - Approx. 16 Servings (1 serving = 2 tbsps.)

Once you get over the exhaustion, it’s actually nice having 2 boys with a 10 year age difference.  It’s like a live re-enactment of the past.  After witnessing some of my 2 yr. old’s tantrums, it inspired my 12 year old to say, “if I acted like that when I was his age I need to apologize”, and me to say, “if I lost my temper with you like that I need to apologize.”  Live and learn.