I'm just hopping on quickly tonight, before we head out the door to ring in the new year with our neighbours to wish all of you a safe and happy 2010. It's hard to believe that 2009 will be over in the matter of a few hours. I don't know how it's possible, but this year seems to have flashed by even faster than last year.
I love the promise of a new year. Shiny new with no blemishes yet; like a blank page, just waiting to be filled in, and this year, we've got some good things coming up. This past year was a challenge for me in many ways, and 2010 won't be without it's challenges, but I feel good about where we are in our lives right now and am looking forward to 2010 more openly and with less trepidation than I have in the past few years.
So, a question: do you set goals/resolutions? If you do, what are your main ones for this year? I'll try to post mine tomorrow.
Whatever you do to ring in the new year, even if it means going to bed at 8:30 (not that I've ever done that... ahem. Oh... um... ok, so maybe once or twice) I hope you have fun.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
It's a Wrap
Another holiday over and done with. Weeks of planning, shopping, wrapping, cooking done in a matter of a day. Hours, actually. But it was good, very good this year.
I was able to convince Mouse to go back to sleep for a few hours after she woke up at 4:50 am, I, however, could not be convinced to go back to sleep. Oh well. We all “got up” at 7:45. The girls were so much fun this year – running around and squealing over the gifts. Delightedly exclaiming after each thing “It’s ‘zactly what I WANTED!”. The only thing that threw Mouse for a loop was a (much needed) metronome for her piano practice. She wasn’t sure what it was at first, and after a bit of explanation she exclaimed “OOOHH! A ticky-tocky thing! It’s ‘zactly what I WANTED!”. Too funny.
We had very few duds, and pretty much all hits this year. The primo toy is Baboo’s Strawberry Shortcake Café, which I bought out of desperation because I had no other ideas. They have both played for hours with this. Mouse loves her Pixos, Chixos. And we got some fun games as well. A winner has been Zingo – a take on Bingo. Baboo calls it ZigZag, but we all know what she means. The pink and purple Wii remotes are also very awesome. The girls love having their own remotes.
We’re not overwhelmed with new stuff and have a few things that will last us all year, which is great. A good balance, I think.
Dinner turned out awesome. I’m definitely getting the turkey down. Delicious. And if you’ve never tried a Butter Braid pastry – you must find a fundraiser to buy it from. Oh yum. They’re good.
Unfortunately, after Christmas shopping was a bit of a bomb, as there was very, very little to choose from, if anything at all. Oh well. And also unfortunately, we sent both of Hubster’s parents home sick. In the middle of a blizzard. Sigh. I’ve since bleached every piece of washable fabric I could get my hands on, including pillows, so hopefully, next time we have company, I won’t feel as guilty if anyone goes home sick.
This week, we’re looking forward to some playdates with friends, chilling out a bit, playing with our new things, and playing in our newly fallen snow. We’ve got plans with some friends for a casual New Year’s Eve, and it’ll be a good end to this interesting year.
I was able to convince Mouse to go back to sleep for a few hours after she woke up at 4:50 am, I, however, could not be convinced to go back to sleep. Oh well. We all “got up” at 7:45. The girls were so much fun this year – running around and squealing over the gifts. Delightedly exclaiming after each thing “It’s ‘zactly what I WANTED!”. The only thing that threw Mouse for a loop was a (much needed) metronome for her piano practice. She wasn’t sure what it was at first, and after a bit of explanation she exclaimed “OOOHH! A ticky-tocky thing! It’s ‘zactly what I WANTED!”. Too funny.
We had very few duds, and pretty much all hits this year. The primo toy is Baboo’s Strawberry Shortcake Café, which I bought out of desperation because I had no other ideas. They have both played for hours with this. Mouse loves her Pixos, Chixos. And we got some fun games as well. A winner has been Zingo – a take on Bingo. Baboo calls it ZigZag, but we all know what she means. The pink and purple Wii remotes are also very awesome. The girls love having their own remotes.
We’re not overwhelmed with new stuff and have a few things that will last us all year, which is great. A good balance, I think.
Dinner turned out awesome. I’m definitely getting the turkey down. Delicious. And if you’ve never tried a Butter Braid pastry – you must find a fundraiser to buy it from. Oh yum. They’re good.
Unfortunately, after Christmas shopping was a bit of a bomb, as there was very, very little to choose from, if anything at all. Oh well. And also unfortunately, we sent both of Hubster’s parents home sick. In the middle of a blizzard. Sigh. I’ve since bleached every piece of washable fabric I could get my hands on, including pillows, so hopefully, next time we have company, I won’t feel as guilty if anyone goes home sick.
This week, we’re looking forward to some playdates with friends, chilling out a bit, playing with our new things, and playing in our newly fallen snow. We’ve got plans with some friends for a casual New Year’s Eve, and it’ll be a good end to this interesting year.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
The Children Were Nestled..
All snug in their beds. Mostly. I think they’re still awake and probably levitating 6 inches off the mattress with excitement, but the girls are in bed and we’re waiting to be “Santa”. It may take a while, but that’s ok. I remember what it was like to try to fall asleep on Christmas Eve. It was HARD. I'm excited for them. This is so much fun!
We are ready for Christmas. It was nice just having today to relax. We were not running around like crazy. We were able to enjoy today and just relax. We’ve really had an excellent month all truth be told. Every day we’ve done something fun to prepare for Christmas. The chocolate advent calendars in the morning with the little activity cards kept the anticipation at an even keel all month. And it was fun. Nothing seemed really overwhelming. It worked and I’m glad. I feel like I’m going into tomorrow pretty calm and peaceful. I like that.
Today, Hubster had the day off and the girls were absolutely bouncing off the walls with excitement. The day was shaping up to be rainy and cold, so we took that bouncy energy to one of those indoor bounce-house playground things. It was just what Santa ordered. Those girls bounced, slid and ran for 2 hours. The rest of the day was pretty quiet, just puttering around the house, but it was a nice day.
The only sad part is that despite me begging the universe, my poor mother in law is sick. Pretty sick. Bad sore throat and now it’s spreading to her ear. She’s slept most of today and joined us tonight for our traditional finger food Christmas Eve dinner, but she’s still not feeling well. What is it with people getting sick at my house? Good grief!? My Mum got sick here a few weeks ago and last year SHE was the one who was lying at death’s door with a horrible stomach bug. This year it’s my mother in law. I hope she's better by tomorrow.
Anyway, the cookies and milk (with apples, carrots and celery and a bottle of water for the reindeer in case they are hungry and thirsty) are set out for Santa, The Night Before Christmas read, Santa tracked at the NORAD site, cuddles and reassurances that Santa IS coming tonight, kids tucked and retucked into bed and now us grown-ups are just waiting to finish up the Santa duties. I hear crunching in the living room, so I suspect that Hubster and his Dad are making short work of the goodies. At least part of the job is done.
I hope that the magic of Christmas (if you celebrate) is alive in your house tonight. It sure is at ours.
We are ready for Christmas. It was nice just having today to relax. We were not running around like crazy. We were able to enjoy today and just relax. We’ve really had an excellent month all truth be told. Every day we’ve done something fun to prepare for Christmas. The chocolate advent calendars in the morning with the little activity cards kept the anticipation at an even keel all month. And it was fun. Nothing seemed really overwhelming. It worked and I’m glad. I feel like I’m going into tomorrow pretty calm and peaceful. I like that.
Today, Hubster had the day off and the girls were absolutely bouncing off the walls with excitement. The day was shaping up to be rainy and cold, so we took that bouncy energy to one of those indoor bounce-house playground things. It was just what Santa ordered. Those girls bounced, slid and ran for 2 hours. The rest of the day was pretty quiet, just puttering around the house, but it was a nice day.
The only sad part is that despite me begging the universe, my poor mother in law is sick. Pretty sick. Bad sore throat and now it’s spreading to her ear. She’s slept most of today and joined us tonight for our traditional finger food Christmas Eve dinner, but she’s still not feeling well. What is it with people getting sick at my house? Good grief!? My Mum got sick here a few weeks ago and last year SHE was the one who was lying at death’s door with a horrible stomach bug. This year it’s my mother in law. I hope she's better by tomorrow.
Anyway, the cookies and milk (with apples, carrots and celery and a bottle of water for the reindeer in case they are hungry and thirsty) are set out for Santa, The Night Before Christmas read, Santa tracked at the NORAD site, cuddles and reassurances that Santa IS coming tonight, kids tucked and retucked into bed and now us grown-ups are just waiting to finish up the Santa duties. I hear crunching in the living room, so I suspect that Hubster and his Dad are making short work of the goodies. At least part of the job is done.
I hope that the magic of Christmas (if you celebrate) is alive in your house tonight. It sure is at ours.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Ready for the Man in Red
We’ve survived crazy week and made it to the weekend in one piece, with the house ready for Christmas and guests. The only souvenir (I cannot spell that word, thank you spell checker) I have from a week of pretty crappy sleep and going 120mph is a weird half cold. I’ve been half sinus congested, kind of tight in the chest, with kind of a cough. Sort of sick but, not really bad and really just bad enough to feel kind of crappy. On the advice of a friend, I’ve been drinking orange juice with cayenne pepper in it, hoping to get this cold moving out of here. Though my nose is starting to drip a bit, mostly I’m just feeling a lot of burning.
And I’m praying to any god that will listen that I DO NOT pass this onto Josh’s folks who are visiting here this week. I don’t think I can deal with guilt of sending more family members home sicker than dogs.
However, school is done for 2 weeks. The presents are bought, wrapped, shipped if required and neatly tucked under the tree. Baking done and delivered to teachers, friends, neighbors. Santa has been visited and has received “the list”. Cards are sent. Groceries bought, turkey procured. Family safely arrived. We’ve even had a dusting of snow which thrills the girls to no end, so all in all, things are ready for Christmas. I’m sure that something last minute will come up, but for now, I’m happy to just enjoy this time.
It’s nice to know that some things have gone well, when other things – I’m glaring in your direction mortgage company and bank… are not going so well. To say that I’m frustrated, is well, a bit of an understatement. I guess it means my holiday spirit is being tempered by real life, to a degree. However…..
My mantra is “peace and joy, peace and joy”. Breathe in, breathe out, even if it means through gritted teeth some of the time.
And I’m praying to any god that will listen that I DO NOT pass this onto Josh’s folks who are visiting here this week. I don’t think I can deal with guilt of sending more family members home sicker than dogs.
However, school is done for 2 weeks. The presents are bought, wrapped, shipped if required and neatly tucked under the tree. Baking done and delivered to teachers, friends, neighbors. Santa has been visited and has received “the list”. Cards are sent. Groceries bought, turkey procured. Family safely arrived. We’ve even had a dusting of snow which thrills the girls to no end, so all in all, things are ready for Christmas. I’m sure that something last minute will come up, but for now, I’m happy to just enjoy this time.
It’s nice to know that some things have gone well, when other things – I’m glaring in your direction mortgage company and bank… are not going so well. To say that I’m frustrated, is well, a bit of an understatement. I guess it means my holiday spirit is being tempered by real life, to a degree. However…..
My mantra is “peace and joy, peace and joy”. Breathe in, breathe out, even if it means through gritted teeth some of the time.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Perpetually Dropping Balls
Wow. I don’t think I’ve gone this long without posting before. It’s not that I didn’t have anything to say, I’m sure I did… but….but…. (insert excuse here).
Things have been busy here. My folks arrived shortly after Thanksgiving weekend and well, when you get my Mum and I together, chances are we’re going to be hectic. It’s amazing how much we can cram into a week. This time, I had her help me decorate for the holidays. Our pathetic 15 year old decorations were starting to look at little sad, so we cooked up a theme and got down to work, shopping, planning and arranging and then futzing. We’re good at that. All in all it looks good. I kept the old stuff I love, got some new things and it all looks very festive and sparkly and festive.
We did a lot of running around, baking, shopping, talking, card addressing and then of course, there was still school and piano and Pilates and meals and LIFE that had to be squeezed in all of that. It was wonderful having them here, and maybe it was because of everything that’s happened over the last few months, but this time seemed so precious to me, even though my Mum gets sick 9.9 times out of 10 when she comes and my Dad ends up stuck with the girls many times so my Mum and I can talk and shop and putter around. It wasn’t a hugely exciting visit; it was mostly just day to day living when they were here, but I’m grateful for everything they do for me, for us and love watching them with the girls. They’re heading down to Sunnyville and for the first time in a long time I don’t know when I’m going to see them again. It may not be until my brother’s wedding next August and that just makes me immeasurably sad.
The girls started their Advent calendars, what I like to refer to as the “Christmas chocolate vitamin”, bound to fortify us through the holidays. Hmmm, maybe they should make that for adults with a little “fortification” tucked inside? Nothing gets those girls out of bed in the morning faster than the thought of chocolate before breakfast.
When unpacking the Christmas decorations, I discovered an Advent “mitten/hat” string that I found on sale last year, so I decided to write up little cards with “something Christmasy to do” each day on it. The girls each take a turn pulling out a card and we read it and then later incorporate it into our day. It seemed like a fun idea at the time, but it’s kind of turned out to be harder than I thought. Some ideas have been easy/obvious and with having a few functions coming up I’ve been able to fill in those days easily. We’ve baked cookies, done crafts, decorated the tree and gone to see Disney on Ice (a special treat with my Mum also known as “the skating Princesses”). I’ve also had the “watch a show” or “read a book” card in there. I made a list of possibilities, but it’s been hard to schedule a whole month of these as I’m not always sure of the timing. And well, being so busy, there were a few times I forgot to put cards in. Which resulted in much panic in the morning… “but MOM! There’s NO CARD! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO???!!!” Oh boy. Some days I’m scrambling to come up with something while the girls watch me expectantly… waiting for something brilliant to happen after I write it down and tuck it into the appropriate mitten or hat before their very eyes.
I’ve made no pretense that it’s anyone other than me writing on the card and we’re not pushing the “Santa” thing for this. They know it’s me and that I’ve dropped the ball a few times. I’m hoping that it will all just roll into a fun memory and maybe a tradition and they’ll just causally forget that I’m somewhat unorganized.
And we’re getting ready for a very busy week, cos hooo boy. We need one of those! (weave sarcasm thickly in there). We’ve got Baboo’s class brunch and our own holiday party tomorrow, I’m having breakfast with a friend on Sunday and finishing the baking, I’m helping a friend with a cake, we’re going to see Santa, I’m participating in Baboo’s class, we’ve got carols ‘n cookies at Mouse’s class, the school Christmas party and Josh’s folks coming next weekend. And that’s just the stuff I remember! Whew!
All in all, I feel very much like Moose in the one of our favourite Christmas stories “Moosteltoe”. “Check, check, triple check! Oh good golly, this moose was jolly! It was so simple, so easy, so….. ok, so not so perfectly perfect!”. But we’re having fun anyway.
And here is where I will pull some bloggy smoke and mirrors to cover the little I have to say and the even shorter amount of time I have to say it … So I’m going to share some links to some fun stuff….
I heard these guys on the radio earlier this week and have been mesmerized by them ever since. They’re singing is INCREDIBLE and their Christmas CanCan song cracks us all up over here. You can preview their music on their website and download their albums as well. Go and check out ‘Straight No Chaser’…
Also, this great blog has been started some of the best bloggers I’ve read. I’m looking forward to following their weight loss progress and am already feeling inspired (what? Again? Ha) to get back into the game myself. Go check out Five Full Plates.
Things have been busy here. My folks arrived shortly after Thanksgiving weekend and well, when you get my Mum and I together, chances are we’re going to be hectic. It’s amazing how much we can cram into a week. This time, I had her help me decorate for the holidays. Our pathetic 15 year old decorations were starting to look at little sad, so we cooked up a theme and got down to work, shopping, planning and arranging and then futzing. We’re good at that. All in all it looks good. I kept the old stuff I love, got some new things and it all looks very festive and sparkly and festive.
We did a lot of running around, baking, shopping, talking, card addressing and then of course, there was still school and piano and Pilates and meals and LIFE that had to be squeezed in all of that. It was wonderful having them here, and maybe it was because of everything that’s happened over the last few months, but this time seemed so precious to me, even though my Mum gets sick 9.9 times out of 10 when she comes and my Dad ends up stuck with the girls many times so my Mum and I can talk and shop and putter around. It wasn’t a hugely exciting visit; it was mostly just day to day living when they were here, but I’m grateful for everything they do for me, for us and love watching them with the girls. They’re heading down to Sunnyville and for the first time in a long time I don’t know when I’m going to see them again. It may not be until my brother’s wedding next August and that just makes me immeasurably sad.
The girls started their Advent calendars, what I like to refer to as the “Christmas chocolate vitamin”, bound to fortify us through the holidays. Hmmm, maybe they should make that for adults with a little “fortification” tucked inside? Nothing gets those girls out of bed in the morning faster than the thought of chocolate before breakfast.
When unpacking the Christmas decorations, I discovered an Advent “mitten/hat” string that I found on sale last year, so I decided to write up little cards with “something Christmasy to do” each day on it. The girls each take a turn pulling out a card and we read it and then later incorporate it into our day. It seemed like a fun idea at the time, but it’s kind of turned out to be harder than I thought. Some ideas have been easy/obvious and with having a few functions coming up I’ve been able to fill in those days easily. We’ve baked cookies, done crafts, decorated the tree and gone to see Disney on Ice (a special treat with my Mum also known as “the skating Princesses”). I’ve also had the “watch a show” or “read a book” card in there. I made a list of possibilities, but it’s been hard to schedule a whole month of these as I’m not always sure of the timing. And well, being so busy, there were a few times I forgot to put cards in. Which resulted in much panic in the morning… “but MOM! There’s NO CARD! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO???!!!” Oh boy. Some days I’m scrambling to come up with something while the girls watch me expectantly… waiting for something brilliant to happen after I write it down and tuck it into the appropriate mitten or hat before their very eyes.
I’ve made no pretense that it’s anyone other than me writing on the card and we’re not pushing the “Santa” thing for this. They know it’s me and that I’ve dropped the ball a few times. I’m hoping that it will all just roll into a fun memory and maybe a tradition and they’ll just causally forget that I’m somewhat unorganized.
And we’re getting ready for a very busy week, cos hooo boy. We need one of those! (weave sarcasm thickly in there). We’ve got Baboo’s class brunch and our own holiday party tomorrow, I’m having breakfast with a friend on Sunday and finishing the baking, I’m helping a friend with a cake, we’re going to see Santa, I’m participating in Baboo’s class, we’ve got carols ‘n cookies at Mouse’s class, the school Christmas party and Josh’s folks coming next weekend. And that’s just the stuff I remember! Whew!
All in all, I feel very much like Moose in the one of our favourite Christmas stories “Moosteltoe”. “Check, check, triple check! Oh good golly, this moose was jolly! It was so simple, so easy, so….. ok, so not so perfectly perfect!”. But we’re having fun anyway.
And here is where I will pull some bloggy smoke and mirrors to cover the little I have to say and the even shorter amount of time I have to say it … So I’m going to share some links to some fun stuff….
I heard these guys on the radio earlier this week and have been mesmerized by them ever since. They’re singing is INCREDIBLE and their Christmas CanCan song cracks us all up over here. You can preview their music on their website and download their albums as well. Go and check out ‘Straight No Chaser’…
Also, this great blog has been started some of the best bloggers I’ve read. I’m looking forward to following their weight loss progress and am already feeling inspired (what? Again? Ha) to get back into the game myself. Go check out Five Full Plates.
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