A Little ALARMING!!!!

More than a little alarming actually......quite loud and very alarming. Our buildings fire alarm went off last night. We aren't talking the little beep beep beep beep of most regular house alarms. We have one of those in our apartment that goes off when something from the stove starts smoking. No this is a really loud, wake you up out of a dead sleep, make you children start screaming, loud whooop whoooop whoooop sound. It lasted at least 5 minutes.

At about 3:45 last night it went off, and shortly after fire trucks started arriving. Not quite sure what to do, not wanting to yank the kids out of their beds if I didn't have too, hoping it was a false alarm, I sent Mike to head downstairs to see what was going on. I tried to keep the kids

from crying while I also ran around finding pants and coats and hats and mitts, and some of our

most important things like all our identification. I kept checking out the window there were at least 3 fire trucks. Right after Mike left for downstairs they announcement came over the loud speaker to stay calm and wait for further instruction!

I called Mike about 2 minutes later and he told me

there was no fire that they were aware of and that it was a false alarm.

Now we were left with a family of four unable to get back to sleep. Mike stayed with Aubrey for a good 45 min before she fell asleep, Mason was still awake when Mike came back to bed at 5:00am. I was awake that entire time and remained awake for a little while after. Thankfully my kids slept until 8:00 this morning!

I am glad that it was only a false alarm and that we still have a house, but it sure made for a long night!

This is the lovely sign we have plastered on the inside of our door!

Hats for the Kiddos!

A few months ago I entered a blog contest over at I Am Momma Hear Me Roar. And I won!!! Yay, that like never happens! I was able to choose 3 patterns for crocheting hats! I picked my patterns and then kind of forgot about them! I have been crocheting since I was like 12!!

I used to go to my Great Grandmothers house after school

and she would teach me how to crochet and play crib! Those were definitely special memories for me. And it has been a skill I have kept over all these years. I have made several blankets and a few other small things. Last spring I learned how to crochet some hats for my kids, and they love them.

The contest this fall was for great patterns from Inner Hooker

(don't you love the name). She has a shop on Etsy if you are interested. When I saw all the cute patterns offered by Inner

Hooker I was so excited!! The only problem was after I won the contest I realized I would have to go buy all my crocheting stuff again. I left all mine back home in Alberta!!

I finally got around to getting some yarn and hooks and I whipped up these hats for the kids in a few hours! I was so happy with how they turned out! Aubrey especially loves hers, she was wearing it before I was even finished!

I really like them and I am pretty sure

I will be making a few more

in the near future!

I think this little Owl is my favourite though!!

Tres Leches Cake

So I said I would do another post about Mikes cake.....I had every intention of doing it the very next day....but suddenly I turn around and over 10 days have passed! I am not sure where all of January went...but it is almost gone!!

So for Mikes birthday I wanted to do a special cake for him. I always like doing special cakes for birthdays. I have played around with fondant a bit and this was his cake a couple years ago.

Yup his 26th birthday!!

I do not claim do be a fondant professional....but I enjoy doing it. This was probably only my second cake...so don't look to close at the imperfections!! Mike asked for a fondant cake again this year....but I told him I had something else in mind.

When we went down to Mexico last January Mike couldn't get enough of this one cake. He didn't know what it was called so he called it water cake....because is was sooooo moist. He ate multiple pieces every day!

I had to get a picture of him enjoying his favorite dessert!

So imagine my delight when I came across a recipe on pinterest for Tres Leches Cake. I figured this had to be it! I was going to keep it a surprise from Mike, but I also didn't want to disappoint him when he didn't see a fondant cake. So I also asked him what fruit he would like to have served on top. He picked 2 fruits I wouldn't have thought of so I was glad I asked him. We topped it with kiwi and pomegranate This was the finished product! It was a huge success. Mike loved it and that was what I was hoping for. I would definitely make this again! Thank goodness for pinterest!!!

It was super yummy...like REALLY SUPER yummy!!

The reason it is called Tres Leches Cake is because after you bake and cool the cake you poke it with holes and pour a mixture of sweetened condensed milk, evaported milk and heavy cream over top. That is what makes it so moist, but not soggy!!! If you wanted to give if a try the recipe is pinned from this site! I hope you enjoy it too!

Mikes Birthday

Mike's Birthday was last Sunday, Jan. 8th. Birthday's don't seem to be too big of a deal for Mike. Usually we have his family come over, eat some cake and that is about it. Well being here in Toronto this year....it was highly unlikely that his family would be making it out to his birthday. I know that he loves his "little family" here, but I still wanted to do a little something for his birthday. On Sat. we dropped the kids off at a friends house, then went out for some lunch and a bit of shopping. We got a little cake from a bakery for dessert!!

It was delicious!! We came home ate some, went and picked up the kids and called it a day. I wanted to do something on his birthday though. I thought it would be nice to have some people over, but our place is so tiny I knew we would have to keep our numbers few. He didn't mention wanting to have anyone over for his birthday so I took matters into my own hands and decided to throw a "mini surprise party" for him.

I contacted a few of the friends we have met since we have been here, and made the arrangements. Someone was going to come watch our kids after we had put them to bed, while I took Mike out for one last "surprise" for his birthday. We went for a short walk, and drank our hot chocolate....everyone else snuck into our house, then the babysitter called to say that Mason had thrown up. Really it would have been a total success if I hadn't had one little slip earlier in the day. That got his brain thinking and wondering if I was planning anything. But I think by the time we were almost home, talking about cleaning up puke and what blankets we would use, I had his mind off it!!

I also told the babysitter that she could get the kids back out of bed right after we left. Mason was so concerned that we would have a party without him, I just couldn't leave him in bed. Of course they were ecstatic! Our guests had brought a few decorations and jazzed the place up and the kids were going wild with the balloons and streamers. I wish I got pictures of it all. But I was trying to quickly put the finishing touches on his cake and missed the opportunity. I tried taking a few later, but the quality of them was so poor they were not worth posting. I am working on my photo skills....I have a long way to go! But I will talk more about that another time.

We sang, had some cake and then put the kids back to bed. Played a few games then everyone headed home because of early monday morning! Back to school and back to work for everyone! I was really glad I could do a little something for my favorite guy! I think he was a little bummed at the beginning of the day....thinking not much was going to happen, but I think he had a good time! I took a few pictures the next day of Mike enjoying his left over cake. That is all I have to document his birthday this year!!

The cake I made was delicious too....but I am going to write a post about that later!! :)

Miracle Moment!!

It really was a miracle that my caramels turned out!! It was all too late when I realized that my candy thermometer (brand new I might add) was definitely not working!

I first saw this recipe on pinterest. My mouth was watering when I saw it! Apple Cider Caramels! Come on, that is like candy apple with out having to gnaw on the apple!!

I also happen to LOVE caramel apple ciders from Starbucks!! YUMMY!!

When I went to the website I found out that the recipe actually came from one of my other favorite sites, Our Best Bites, which you should totally check out if you haven't already!

This was my very first batch of caramels ever! I had read and re-read the recipe, it didn't sound too hard! Just had to make sure you got it to the right temperature!

But I knew something was wrong when that thermometer

wasn't going any higher than 200˚F!!!

It would get close and then drop, then close again and then drop!

If any of you have made candy you know there isn't a lot of time to stop and consult the internet for other methods to check your candy's readiness! So I went way over to the farthest corners of my brain and tried to remember what I had seen my mother doing.....like ages ago!!

Something was ringing a bell about a glass of cold water and being able to roll a ball with the candy! I don't know how many times I dropped candy into that water, but finally I had success! I poured it into my pan and let them set!

They turned out better than I could have expected! Soooo good! Unless you have someone standing over your shoulder snapping pictures as you go...its hard to get pictures of the process....so you just get to look at the delicious aftermath!

Check out this Giveaway!

I wish my blog was big enough to offer a giveaway....but it's not!! ha ha!! So head on over to Better After to check out the giveaway there! Super cute dress, wouldn't you love to win it!!! I sure would!

New Hair

It was high time that both Aubrey and I had haircuts! And I finally made it happen!

Aubrey was easy....I just had to pull out my hair bag, she willingly hopped into the chair and away we went. I think seeing haircuts is routine enough for her that there is nothing to fear!

She did awesome of course!

Sat perfectly still and no fussing!

It was definitely time to get rid of the mullet.

Even though it would curl up, it was just crazy messy all the time. Now maybe it will grow out a little more evenly! I think she looks super cute!

My hair on the other hand was going to be a little more tricky.....if I could cut it myself I totally would....and don't get me wrong...I still do my fair share of cutting on my hair, but to get a good straight cut at the back....it is best off if I let someone else do that! But WHO????

I kind of like my hair a certain way, and I often tell whoever is cutting it(usually a good friend)just how they should do it. Maybe I was a little annoying...I don't know....you would have to ask them!! :) Add to that, the student budget....it doesn't leave a lot of room for fancy hairdo's!! Groupon to the rescue!!! Haircuts here in downtown Toronto are pricey! Like $50 starting point for a women's haircut! I have *never* paid for a haircut in my life!!! It was always done at the salon I worked at or in trade with a friend! So I literally jumped on the Groupon deal for a $29 haircut at a respectable salon.

I knew I would be losing a lot of hair. After lightening it in June, and then

not getting it cut for 6 months(gasp!!!!) my ends were FRIED!!

This was my hair before the cut....it may not look that bad...but trust me IT WAS!!!!

I totally feel for you all having to go out and find a new stylist!! STRESSFUL!!! The one I got was nice though and did an okay job.... I knew the moment she said she was done that I would be "touching" it up at home!! I lost a good 4-5 inches at the salon, and even though I didn't touch the length....this was the pile that came off after I got home!!!

ha ha ha I like a lot of texturizing in my hair and she hardly did any!!

Thanks for the good "base cut" and I am much happier now that I have taken my scissors to it too!!!!

Here is a Before and After shot for you!!!

I am happy with it now, and my hair is so much

healthier!!

Even though I know my hair is still long...

it just feels so short now!!