I'll Try to Catergorize on this very long post!

Food I've baked or made and actually remembered to take a photo of:

On the occasion that we make it into a unique winnipeg store or bakery Dave often says things like "oh, that looks good" to the pies, or breads, or action figures. To which I reply "I can make that."
Oddly enough, when I do go and make something, like these delicious apple pies, he eats it enjoyable and than talks about how I bake too much and how he's going to get fat. There is no winning...We decided it would be fun and important to have some other Anglican youth leaders (that Dave works closely with) over for desserts, so I made strawberry tarts.
As it was April in Winnipeg, fresh strawberries (at least any that would be good) were not an option, but a good friend of mine gave me some frozen berries from her summer picking. What a lucky duck am I!
I've always used the tenderflake recipe for my pie crusts because I like easy, no fail flaky crust!
I thrifted an old molded tart pan a year or so ago, but don't often have a chance to use it except for muffin making (which turns out to be Corrina's favorite thing to do! My little baker!) . The tart shells took the design so nicely, which doesn't really do anything except make them a little more fun! To avoid a puffy tart shell I use beans (dry ones, not from a can) as pie weights when I am baking the shells or pies empty. Oh, and always remember to prick empties with a fork! Once the tarts are cooled the 'pie weights' drop right out. Gotta love being cheap!Because the berries were frozen the classic "strawberry tart" recipe geared towards fresh berries was not going to cut it. I went the route of sugar and cornstarch to achieve these delicious masterpieces! I actually do most of my heating in the microwave (yeah I know, lab rats that were given microwaved water did not benefit from any nutrients, whereas the ones that were given fresh water did... blah blah.. I still like my microwave!), so this filling was done in the microwave too, hence the giant Pyrex, my most indispensable kitchen tool! I've always wanted to try this giant cookie cake and finally found an excuse to make it for a friends birthday party!
The recipe calls for a cream cheese frosting between the layers. I changed this up a bit, for the better. One, I didn't want to buy 7 packages of cream cheese. Two, I thought that would be a little much. I ended up making a whipped cream & cream cheese frosting by whipping cream (with some sugar and vanilla as usual) to stiff peaks, and folding in whipped (with some sugar) cream cheese. I will never make plain cream cheese frosting again! The whipped cream version was so much better, lighter and tastier. Mind you the cookie layers absorbed alot of it, so i think I would double the icing next time, but this frosting on top of a cake would be amazing!

Crazy Colvinson's:

Can you believe that Corrina has been hearing for ONE YEAR with her right implant?

It doesn't feel so long ago that we were off to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto to have her head carefuly sliced open in order to give little Corrina hearing!

Corrina has gone from nothing more than a screeching "aaaaaaaa" spoken randomly to a vocabulary full of words and a mind even more full of understanding!
We spent a few mintues going over language developmental levels with Corrina's speech therapist a week ago. From our own observations of Corrina her development seems to be in the range an average 15-20 month old child (most two year olds are far beyond the 'average' development for their age range, so while Corrina is no where near the actual development of her peers she is at least catching up to the average level of development.)


We got a few new toys around here this spring. Dave is doing his part to make sure they are safe for Corrina.

Actualy, Corrina spent the entire evening riding tricycles and 'driving' cars with a few other 2 year old girls on our block. We have been meeting so many neat families and lots of little kids on the street. Right now we couldn't have asked for a better neighborhood for our family to grow into!

Our backyard still does not look too good. We have a fence along the back, and some bird feeders. We have started digging out garden plots. Good friends helped us weed, cut grass, and prepare our yard for soil and sod, but there is still alot of work to be done before things look, hmmm, how shall I say it... normal!
Corrina really doesn't mind though, in fact she doesn't really know the difference! She loves to dig in the dirt and at least right now she doesn't have to stay out of mommy's flower beds!
I am hoping that by next week I will be yelling at her to get out of them though, as my plants really need to get outside!

Corrina really enjoyed seeing her Grandma and Grandpa Colvin in May, as did we!

They helped us paint our house, and did a great job putting up the fence with Dave.

Corrina and I have been spending lots of time doing crafts together. It is a great time for me to talk to her and teach her words, or refine ones she has because she is actually sitting down!!! Her focus while painting is just incredible. She loves tasks that require fine motor skills and detail. Although she is playing language catch up she is very advanced in many other aspects which both helps her and frustrates her at times.
I am very excited for this weekend, yes, because of Father's day, and also because of Winnipeg Composting day. Once a year the city sells compost bins for a reduced rate and we are getting one tomorrow! I have never been so excited about vegetable peelings and yard trimmings in my life! We also get the dirt for our yard tomorrow.
Not actually sure yet what I will do for Dave for fathers day... must come up with a craft...

Well, this post is definitely long enough now! Hope you all feel sufficiently updated!