With Eli nearing his first birthday and getting close to starting on whole milk, I have considered switching the whole family or just Eli onto an organic milk. It only took a few minutes of searching to find a milk delivery service in Victoria that would deliver cute little glass bottles to my door. It doesn't get much better than that does it? Well at the same cost for one litre that I currently pay for four litres, it had better be darn better! I must admit I was fully prepared to pay but when I mentioned switching our milk to Travis he pulled my happy Utopian land of organic milk and honey into check with one question: Why?

I quickly spit back these reasons:
1. there are no growth hormones used on the cows
2. there are no antibiotics in the milk

Then I hit google so I could have some facts to backup my statements and I found other people with the same quandaries about regular old Milk. They were concerned about the same issues as me but also added two considerations which added to the argument for Organic milk.

3. livestock are treated better
4. livestock can only eat organic feed

To me, being frugal isn't always about buying the cheapest thing, it is about knowing when you can make that cost shortcut and when you really should spend the extra money. So, I continued my research. I found a curious article that pointed out a few differences between Canadian Dairy Regulations and the American Dairy Regulations...

I know. Three posts in one day! I've been banking up material for a while now but I never seem to get around to posting in the evenings. Today I had a super lazy day so I'm ripping down my todo list and trying to finish some small things to make me feel like I accomplished something.


I had an extremely impromptu discovery tonight. I decided to make spaghetti and meatballs and when I was just about ready to mix all the ingredients together for meatballs, I realized that we were out of pasta. Never fear, because I am reading this great book which I know I have previously mentioned but I'll throw another plug in here because I am still really enjoying it. It is going to be one of those books that I read two or three times and get something new out of every time.

Just last night I had read a chapter on Pâte à Choux dough which is also known as puff pastry dough. This simple preparation of flour and water can also be used to make Gnocchi so it was on! I quickly whipped up the dough and threw it into a plastic bag, cut a corner off and piped the dough into boiling water using scissors to cut at even intervals. It was amazingly easy and tasted great too. I served it under spaghetti sauce and meatballs with some oven roasted tomatoes and red peppers. Eli was a fan of his dinner even though he doesn't look incredibly pumped! This picture captures his mood tonight well. He was a bit of a grump.

I've never been a fan of breakfast sausage until my Mom cooked me some of her homemade sausage patties. These pork sausages have some serious bite but none of the noxious grease when you bite into a casing (ew!) and none of that "I feel like I'm going to hurl" after effect. I know that anyone who has eaten breakfast sausages in a cheesy restaurant (read as Denny's or bad hotel breakfast or in the Pacific Buffet while riding on a BC Ferry) will know these feelings I am referring to. I now make my own sausage with my wonderful Mother's recipe. I purchase a big package of ground pork from Costco about every 6-9 months and make a batch of sausage and freeze it. To make the breakfast patties, defrost the meat in the fridge overnight or even in the microwave on defrost and make mini burger patties. Then cook! This sausage is not only great for accompanying a feast of pancakes and eggs but is also great for pasta dishes. And it is already fully spiced.

I stopped buying the real stuff about a year and a half ago when the price of a medium jug of maple syrup increased by about five bucks over night. On special special occasions we'll still splurge for a little taste of the good stuff but most of the time we are buying whatever is the cheapest. My Mom has made Maple Syrup for as long as I can remember but it never occurred to me just how easy this might be.

Here are the pictures from Elias' 9th Month. We've put in a fair bit of time on the couch in the last week watching the Olympics. GO Canada! Eli usually doesn't get much time in front of the tube but this week he has had no other option. At times he's pretty captivated by what's on the TV but usually he is happier getting into trouble.

Lately, our living room feels like it has been transformed into a circus ring. Eli is the Seal because he still spends most of his time pulling himself along on his belly, clapping blocks together and yelping. He sure is moving fast now! Oscar is the lion who likes to sleep a lot but occasionally wants to play. When he is in a playful mood he eats everything in sight and bowls over the poor little seal. Trav and I are occasionally the ring leaders keeping things in order but most of the time we're the crazy clowns running around keeping the menagerie entertained and out of trouble. This is what our lives have become and every day is more fun than the last.

Every time we put Eli down in the living room, there are two places that he always gravitates towards. He either does a quick crawl to tug on the phone cord that is nicely dangling down the back of the table. Or, he sprints to the metal fireplace grate and tugs that around the room. During the Canada and Norway Hockey Game, Trav and I were discussing ways we could baby proof these two hot spots. When a great "a ha" moment came to us. Why baby proof the house when we can house proof the baby! This is the background story behind the laundry basket turned into turtle protective shell for babies. I think we could market this!

Here's a quick update on what's going on...