thanks Annona

He got a lot of compliments on them!

nice teeth

Don't know why - this photo reminds me of my mom's smile!

brotherly love

fun in Québec

I went to Québec last week with Mateo to see my brother and his family and we had a great time.
I will do this every summer!
Maika and Mateo had a great time - well - most of the time!

Luca is one tomorrow

This picture was taken exactly one year ago.
It was like yesterday.
I remember the joy, the pain, the joy, the pain. Everything.
Angel Luca was born.
Angel Luca is in our life and we are so blessed.
Bonne Fête Loulou!

changing self-portraits

from 2004 to now, some of my favourite pictures

 2004 - In Mexico with Elias

2005 - In Turkey with Jojo

 2006 - At home in St-Jean

2007 -  On the highway taking pictures of myself (very safe, n'est-ce pas?!) going to Québec

 2008 - Playing Diva in the photobooth - pregnant with Mateo

2009 - In bed with Mateo

 2010 - Muchkin Luca in my belly.  He didn't have a name when the picture was taken

2011 - Self-portraits are very rare and it's much better that way...

Black Forest Ice Cream Pie

from Oprah Magazine ! That I tried last week and that I loved!
I'm gonna do it again for sure but replace the cherries by blueberries....


Here is the recipe :

Worried about rolling out a traditional crust? This Black Forest pie is made with chocolate chip ice cream in a crust of crushed sugar cones, topped with sweetened cherries.
Serves 8

Ingredients

Note: You can also use plain vanilla ice cream and stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips. If you don't have fresh or frozen cherries, substitute canned cherries, drained well.

• 12 sugar ice cream cones, broken into pieces
• 5 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 pint chocolate chip ice cream
• 1 pound fresh or thawed frozen cherries, stemmed and pitted (about 3 cups)
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. cornstarch

Directions

Active time: 40 minutes
Total time: 3 hours

Preheat oven to 350°. In a food processor, pulse ice cream cone pieces until finely ground. In a large bowl, combine crumbs with butter, and then press mixture firmly into the bottom and sides of a 9 1/2" pie pan. Bake 10 minutes; set aside to let cool.

Remove ice cream from freezer and set aside to let soften until spreadable, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer ice cream to pie pan, spreading it out in an even layer. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until solid, about 2 hours. (This can be done a day or two in advance.)

In a medium pot, bring cherries, sugar, and cornstarch to a simmer over medium heat. If using fresh cherries, add 1 to 2 Tbsp. water to prevent sticking. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Chill in the refrigerator until cold.

When ready to serve, spoon cherry mixture on top of pie (if you're not finishing the whole pie at once, spoon cherries on individual pieces). Cut into wedges and serve.

two great quotes

summer fun at my parents

I love this picture !
Luca is so in love with Mateo.
Mateo is not always in love with Luca but he likes him most of the time - when Luca does not take his toys.

tortOllini

Almost every day, Mateo says something that I find amazing, original or funny.
I regret not writing them down so I can tell him about it when he is older.
Today at supper, he said : maman, est-ce que je peux avoir d'autres tortollinis?
Too cute this dude!

...and the beat goes on...

One of our morning rituals is to music and dance.
Mateo loves it (and so does Luca who is already starting to jump up and down when he hears music...). Junior taught him some dance moves and I must say, my son's got it ! (Like his dad !!!)
His favourite artists at the moment are : Bruno Mars, Jennifer Lopez, Black Eyed Peas and Gummy Bear.
Dance on baby!

11.months.old

have not been posting a lot lately

My mind has turned on the work switch and I spend some of my evenings at the computer working instead of surfing on my favourite blogs.
I miss it but then again I am happy to have new projects in my head. I feel so lucky to have a job that I love.
I am going back to work in one month - where has this year gone by?  So it is true that the older you get, the more time flies.
I am sure that I will miss my boys terribly when I go back to work but will be happy of the new things that I will accomplish.
In the meantime, I just want to soak up the sun and eat as many popsicles as I can.

At the Spa

Was at the spa yesterday for Jojo's birthday (Bonne Fête poulette!) and we had a great day!
We shopped,  had lunch,  had a massage (the girls anyways!!!), tanned, caught up...
Could a girl ask for more?

Why can't days last just a little longer?!

(I hadn't swum in a lake in years and it felt wonderful. So different than a pool.)

he eats everything!

I'm telling you, our Luca is the contrary of Mati, he eats everything.
Lately, the most peculiar was gaspacho and chili con carne!