Look what I got!!

We had a wonderful Christmas at the House of Bad. The kids were thrilled with all of their presents, and even more thrilled at having a house full of family. I got some wonderful things, but I want to show you my favourites, both of which were courtesy of my Dad this year.

He MADE me this Santa.



And gave me this memory.



Thanks Dad.

The Ho-Ho-House Tour

Merry Christmas!

Welcome to the House of Bad!

I love this wreath. I've had it for about 6 years, and I just change up the ribbon to suit my mood. I bought some beautiful glass heart ornaments to hang on the porch this year, and once I'd added matching ribbon to everything, they looked made for each other. (I'm not entirely sure the hearts were made for outdoor use, but at least it'll be quick, if they break. Unlike the drawn-out mocking death of the hanging plants I hang there each summer.)



I can't take credit for that most glorious of Christmas decorations - freshly fallen snow. (And to be honest, I hope that it'll all go away come the 26th!)



Hubs gave me the porch swing for my birthday. I'm looking forward to being able to trust Bad not to run into the road, and then I'll be able to sit there with hot chocolate and blankets while I watch my babies play in the snow. (And a little wine in the summer, maybe, whilst they ride their bikes up and down the street?)

I love pulling all the ornaments out of their boxes each year. There are always some that I'd forgotten we had, and it's a wondrous surprise to see them again.



The tree's the thing, here at the House of Bad. Anything and everything goes, as far as ornaments are concerned. Here are some of the things you'll find on our tree (and last year's post, if you want to see close-ups of a few):

Moose in a rowboat (Nfld)
Fisherman (PEI)
Gnome (Montreal)
Santa made from a seashell (Quebec City)
Coke bottle (Las Vegas)
Rastafarian Santa (Bahamas)
Manatee (St. Pete's Beach)
Christmas Palm Tree (Key West)
Nativity in a Poppy seed shell (Budapest)
Nativity in a pottery cup (Mexico)
Humpty-Dumpty (Harrods, London)
Glass grapes (Niagara-on-the-Lake)
Blown glass tree (Bermuda)
Mickey Mouse in a lightbulb (California)
Bobble-head monkey (McDonald's Happy Meal)
Glass pickle
Glass potato
Frog Prince (2 different ones!)
Pig Prince
Ballerina Elephant
Cinderella (not the Walt Disney version)
4 silk Snow White balls (Walt Disney version)
Silk butterfly
Leprechaun
spaceman in a rocket car
Venetian gondola
train
Santa in a firetruck
glass candy canes
collection of mirrored disco balls
glass and feathered birds
Russian wooden dolls
antique glass balls (all colours)
new glass balls (purple and blue)
cheap flocked balls from Ikea (all colours)
crocheted angels and snowflakes my mom made when I was little
a silk 'Ziggy' ball from Hubs' childhood
ceramic snowman my sister painted circa 1980
glass circus lion
glass circus clown
ballet shoes
jewelled high heel shoe
various creations by the Princess (looking forward to some from Bad!)
nutcrackers (various types)
glass icicles
stuffed Donald Duck
glass teddy bear
glass bell
resin teddy bear
Victorian tin tinsel
clear bead garland
my beloved tree topper (coveted for an entire Christmas season and purchased in February at 75% off!)



It all looks fabulous together once it's up! It really is a tree designed for children (of all ages!). We sit around it and play a Christmas version of eye spy, looking for their favourite ornaments. (The stuffed dog is circa 1985 or so, and he only comes out at Christmas. His name is Poinsetter. I didn't make that up. And please ignore the shutters on the windows. They're hideous, but they came with the house, and 4 years later we haven't gotten around to replacing them yet. Or the ugly carpet. What can I say? It's an old house and the list of things we need to replace is almost as long as Santa's naughty list.)



I don't do a lot of seasonal decorating inside the house, apart from the tree, but what would Christmas be without Reindeer Games? These books and toys live with the ornaments for most of the year, so they're a treat for the kids when they come out again each December.

Other than that, the kids have the trees they made at Bad's birthday, and there's a vase full of pinecones in the powder room. (Just before it snowed we were out walking and the Princess asked me why some trees lost their leaves and some were still green. I explained the difference and we picked up some pinecones - a LOT of pinecones. I thought about making something with them, but just the idea of sticking little googly eyes on to hundreds of pinecones to make little hedgehogs had my head about to implode. I threw them in the vase, and they're actually really pretty. My photo didn't turn out.)

You should check out my blog decorations though, I did this last year too, and lame though it may make me, I just can't help but love it.

Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you have a season full of hugs and giggles and cheer. (And that Santa comes, too!)

xo Badness

Psst! Go see Jen on the Edge for the list of other houses on the tour!

Badness Goes Granola

Okay, not really. But I made some. Granola is one of those foods that I could just never really see the point of. The stuff that comes in the box? Tastes chemically. The powdery looking stuff at the bulk food store? Meh. But then....I made some. And today I made some more. Mmmm....

I've been eating 1/3 cup for breakfast with 1/2 cup of yogurt. On Friday the Princess said to me, "You have to eat something else for breakfast! You ate that day after day after day after day! The next day you have to eat something else. Promise Mommy...." I was out, so I ate something different for the last 3 days, but tomorrow.....

Here's the original recipe - change it as you see fit. I made a fruitless version, just augmenting the amounts of the other ingredients a little, and added chopped crystallized ginger....mmm.....

2 cups oatmeal (I used 1c. oatmeal, and 1 c. spelt)

1/2 cup wheat bran

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup coconut

1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp cinnamon

dash salt

dash vanilla extract

1/2 cup each chopped dried apricots, dried cherries and raisins

zest of one lemon or one orange

Preheat oven to 325 F. Combine oats, bran, sesame, coconut, hazelnuts and sunflower seeds in a big bowl.

Heat oil, honey, cinnamon , salt and vanilla in a small saucepan until blended and runny. Pour over oat mixture and combine well. Spread onto greased or parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 20 - 30 minutes, until rich golden brown. Remove from oven and stir in fruit and zest. Let cool, and break into pieces. Stores well in airtight container in pantry.

And here's a photo of the Princess with our latest Snow-girl.

And I've lost another pound!

Weekly Winners...It's been a Bad week...

Go check out the rest of Lotus's wonderful Weekly Winners Meme, there are always some fabulous participants. I can't for the life of me get the link button to load this morning.....I guess Blogger's hacked off with me again about something....I'm pretty sure Blogger's a man....

The obligatory spaghetti face shots -

Aren't you glad he's pointing at ME to clean him up?

He DOES have blocks

Peek-a-boo!

Don't I look handsome?

Thanks for the new sweater Grandma! Mommy bought me shoes to match!

Bonnie and Clyde

My sister and I are planning to take all the babies to Florida for a week in March or April. This means getting a passport for Bad, and since the Princess's expires at the end of March, getting hers renewed. I went to Wal-mart yesterday to pick up photo prints I'd ordered online, and there was no line-up at the photo studio. I decided to get their passport photos taken.

Wal-mart guy: "I can't take her picture."

Me: "Why not?"

Wal-mart guy: "She's wearing white. She needs to be wearing a colour. But no black. Preferably red or green."

Me: (after the big discussion about WHY) "Alright, I'll just run into the store and buy something." I mean, it's Wal-mart, what's a t-shirt here worth? $5? It's way easier than coming back.

Wal-mart guy: "You can do it anytime, it only takes 5 minutes."

Me: (Thinking: If you think that, you have obviously never tried getting these two out the door) "No, I don't want to have to come back later, I'll just go grab something and come right back."

Wal-mart guy: "OK."

We went straight to the children's section and grabbed a plain purple t-shirt (purple's kind of like red, and even if it is only $5 I would like her to wear it again). We stood in line, paid, and were back at the photo studio within 10 minutes. The lights were all off. There was a big sign saying someone would be back at 3:00. It's 1:00 now. WTF?! He went to lunch?!! Let me just say that my kids got to learn some pretty good swear words from their mommy.

I loaded the kids back in the car and we headed to the Supercentre to return a shirt for my mom. As we were walking in I noticed that there wasn't a line-up at their photo studio. I asked about the passport photos, and they told me there was nothing wrong with the Princess's shirt, but it'd be 10 minutes or so because the photographer who usually does the passport photos is upstairs in a meeting. Fine. I returned the shirt and went back. The girl was still upstairs, but another photographer took their pictures. (That's not as simple as it sounds, the kids aren't allowed to smile, they have to be looking directly at the camera and their head has to be positioned so that they're not casting any shadows. Frankly, it's ridiculous). The guy goes to print the photos and realizes he has to change the cartridge in the printer. He tells me to come back in 10 minutes.

We go. We come back. He sheepishly tells me that he didn't adjust for the lighting properly and the photos have to be taken again, but it's okay, because the passport photo girl is back. She asks me if I have any Cheerios. What? For Bad...apparently he has to have his mouth closed in the photo. I drag the kids through the grocery checkout and get a candy bar to feed Bad so he'll close his mouth. (The Princess's half is a bribe so she'll consent to having her photo taken. Again.) 10 more minutes of cajoling Bad to look in the right direction and we have our pictures.

I hope the government is happy. All that effort for photos that make my beautiful children look like escaped convicts:

Watch out for these two - they're obviously to be considered armed and extremely dangerous!!

Weekly Winners - A Princess's View

Santa brought me just what I wanted!! A camera!! I booted Mommy right off the computer so I could join in the Weekly Winners Meme with Braden and Lotus. I know you'll be a lot more excited to see my photos than you would be to read more of Mom's ranting, rambling posts. So, ta da! Here it is, a Princess' eye view of the House of Bad.

My dad. Reading the newspaper. It takes him all day.

My brother Bad

My Grampa Pampa

Gah! Mommy without make-up! Before coffee! Avert your eyes!

My mom used my camera to take this one of me....obviously she doesn't know how to hold the camera still, but she kind of likes the effect. She says that's what I really looked like as I ran around the house hopped up on Christmas sugar.

I gotta go now....I'm supposed to be in bed! Bye!

Badness Jones' Emporium of Baked Delights....

My tummy hurt last night. After two days of baking and eating and cooking and eating and presents and eating and laughing and visiting and eating and eating and eating, I felt like my stomach was full of lead weights. I woke up this morning still full.

It was a wonderful Christmas. Santa came and spoiled my children. The expressions on their faces were priceless as they madly tore the paper off their gifts. I cooked a turkey dinner with all the trimmings for Hubs' family on Christmas Eve, and was in charge of dessert at my sister's house on Christmas day, so it felt like a bakeshop in here on the morning of the 24th.

Double Espresso Chocolate Torte

Apple Pie and Pecan Pie

Everything turned out wonderfully - I used orange juice as the liquid in the pastry, but I also used butter instead of shortening, and it was hell to work with. I'm giving you the recipe for the chocolate torte, because it was impressive and delicious, but also ridiculously easy and low effort.

On the Twenty's Signature Double Espresso Chocolate Torte

500g bittersweet chocolate, chopped (they recommend Callebaut, and that would probably make it even better, but I just used the extra-dark bars from President's Choice and it was still fabulous)

1 1/3 c. whipping cream

3/4 c. unsalted butter

6 eggs

1 c. sugar

3 tbsp. coffee liqueur

Preheat oven to 225 F. Butter a 10" springform pan, and line with parchment. Put chocolate in a large bowl. Heat butter and cream together in a saucepan just to a simmer, and pour over chocolate. Let sit 1 minute, and then whisk until smooth.

Whisk together eggs, sugar and liqueur and pour into chocolate mixture. Blend thoroughly. Pour into springform pan and bake for 2 - 2 1/2 hours until edges are set and center is still slightly soft. Cool at room temperature, then refrigerate overnight in pan before unmolding and cutting.

Eat. Moan with delight.

Christmas Dog

Is Santa still here?

No - but he brought exactly what she wanted.

OH - I cherish each and every one of your comments, but I would just like to register my astonishment that my last post, a post about the interior of my fridge, garnered more comments than anything else I have written here. I love you, but y'all are wierdos. Thank-you! I'm so relieved that it's not just me.

Girl's gone a wee OCD....Weekly Winners!

Here are my pics for Lotus's weekly winners meme - I'm afraid that they're only exciting to me.

The annual pre-Christmas fridge clean-out -

and then we went shopping.

Our dream home....and Christmas dinner centerpiece. Great job Princess!

I was thinking of posting the photo of the interior of the fridge, ON the fridge, so that Hubs could put everything back where I want it....but that struck me as a little TOO crazy and controlling....even for me.

Another Day, another Party

The Princess had yet another Christmas party yesterday, this time at her "little" school. The Princess was invited as a special guest....being best friends with the teacher's son has its benefits. The party included a small concert, and never one to let a little thing like not having seen a rehearsal slow her down, the Princess chose to participate....the girl is a master of improvisation. Bad worked the room like a pro, giving parents and grandparents an excuse to say "ooh!" and "awww..." and "he's such a darling!". He hugged the legs of many strangers and would stop whatever he was doing to clap....a minute or so after everyone else did.

On the way home (only a block) the Princess went into full meltdown mode. She was exhausted, and over-sugared, and overwhelmed. She was crying and dragging her feet. I was being as patient and understanding as possible, and hushing "I know, you're tired, let's just go home, you can rest at home...."

She sucked in a big breath, wiped away a tear and sputtered, between sobs, "I've just had SUCH a big day....Mommy, I think I need a nice hot cup of tea..."

Don't we all. Merry Merry Christmas everybody! I hope Santa's nice!

O Christmas Tree!

My sister and her family came up on Saturday, and we all went out to Drysdale's to get our Christmas trees. They bought themselves a lovely big SUV to celebrate the birth of their baby in the spring, and I must say that Hubs and I have found it very useful for buying furniture. Even better, our tree fit in it, so we didn't have to move any child seats and now they can spend the next four months vaccuuming needles instead of us! (Hi, and thanks again guys, you lurkers!)

Hubs protests more every year. He feels that the number of ornaments we have is getting out of hand. I used to do a more restrained, 'designer' tree - but as a child I loved the colour and tackiness of it all, and since the Princess was born I've let the decorating take on a more and more 'Who-ville' type vibe.

There's the tree topper I coveted through

October, November and December one year,

and finally purchased for 75% off in February.

Disco balls, and colourful flocked baubles from Ikea.

There are also many special ornaments Hubs and I bought on our travels before we had children. Even more precious because we haven't travelled much since the kids were born!

Including a blown glass coke bottle from Las Vegas,

a reggae angel from Bahamas,

this gnome from Montreal,

and a fisherman from our honeymoon in PEI.

We always give the princess an ornament on the day we get the tree, and have started to do the same for Bad. This year, she knew what to anticipate, and was so excited to pull all her ornaments from the box, and delighted to open her new one.

This is the special ornament from the Princess's first Christmas.

There's Humpty-Dumpty, that I bought at Harrod's

and gave her when she was two.

and this year, another frog prince.

This is what we gave the Boy last year, when he was 4 days old,

and this year.


Waiting for the tree to defrost was terrible, so we baked some cookie ornaments
to make the house smell spicy and sweet.

There are decorations the Princess has made, and I'm looking forward to adding some by Bad.

there are ornaments from my childhood,

and from Hub's....

We couldn't forget the candy-cane!

And what do you get when you pile it all up on the most beautiful tree in the forest?

The story of a life and a love and a family.
Memories for my children to make and to keep.