joy, love and now peace

Christmas morning was a fun time in our house.

Aidan woke up first. typical. he was so excited to go downstairs to see the view. in other words --- what the stockings looked like, the tree lit with all the presents beneath it, the plate of cookies....

we sent him downstairs to take a peek, but with warnings to wait before he touches anything.

he returned very quickly, with the biggest smile. "Mom, you need to look at everything. it is beautiful!!"





we discovered that he had wanted a camera from Santa last year. which was actually a surprise that he remembered that for a year. given the great pictures he took this summer we started the search to help Santa. digital point and shoots have dropped in price, but the kids' versions of digi cameras have not. with some research we felt that our best buy was a "real" camera. time will tell if we made the right decision.

i totally expected him to take 50 pictures of everything. however he has done a good job of focusing and choosing his photos.




this were snowflakes from the Christmas Day hoar frost that formed on the nearby pond.



he has a good eye!!



Kiara lacked focus for her requests for Santa. initially she wanted make-up and dress up clothes. later on it became all sorts of wild dreams. she was very excited to have her own make up now.

{Aidan kept extending his list too. after some discussion they were reminded that Santa cannot bring everything on this never-ending list. Aidan's responded that he understood that, he just wanted to give Santa more options. helpful.}




Kristian also made the "nice" list. he has happily been playing with his lego for a few days now. with some help from someone else. not me. not Kiara. we have been enjoying their creations though.

the first day, they made a robot that could fire miniature cannons at intruders. it worked.



i can now listen to my ipod music without having to go through my laptop. MUCH better sound.






truthfully my Christmas present will come soon. i have been procrastinating with getting our house organized and finished. baskets and containers get cheaper around this time of year. fortunately as more time passes, i do have more ideas and plans. hopefully i can find the right containers to match my vision. good timing now too. as the kids get older their toys are getting smaller, with lots of parts that they don't want to lose. playmobile and i have a love-hate relationship. so far lego is still doing well in the organizing department.





i made Kiara a tutu as well. she loves it!



she also loves her make-up. already she has been putting her Daddy into fits. he has not liked the transformation of her face! she is only allowed to wear it at home. it rarely lasts more than 30 minutes before she has rubbed most of it off! however i think Kris' heart stopped beating as he watched her layer every single colour of eye shadow on her eyelids and below her eyes! if she can get the over-abundance of eye make up out of her system by the time she is 16, we will all be happy. ha!!

a wonderful day of relaxation and play. the day sped by too quickly!!


the evening meal was yummy.




a special treat for the kids. Canada Dry ginger ale with cranberry punch. frozen blueberries floating like ice cubes.




we also had some appetizers to snack on. yummy crackers and special cheeses. we also had some melted brie with dried fruit and cranberry juices and assorted nuts. not a favourite for the kids this year....but we enjoyed it!


the main meal included some roasted potatoes, corn and lamb. this was divine!! some breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic and spices. it really brought out the lamb flavour.

no dessert. we've had enough cookies, chocolates and candies to fill our bodies with more sugar than necessary.

boxing day sent us to Kris' family. this year a few of us played some wii mini-golf. lots of fun! thankfully there was very little sugar that added to their glee. our drive home was filled with tears and complaints and threats....how dare we leave the fun behind. {it doesn't seem to matter if the event was 1 hour or 8 hours long....it is never long enough for the kids' liking!} it was only 2 hours past their bedtimes....not fair! wow. Kris and i had to relinquish our 'parent of the year' trophies. again.

this morning we did not too badly. by afternoon we had 2 extremely emotional and tired children on our hands.

we can only hope that tomorrow will bring out the happy dispositions again. perhaps we can earn our 'awesome parent' award again?

we are all looking forward to a full week of relaxed schedules. we're already making plans to fit in tobogganing and skating with friends. good times.

Merry Christmas

so much for having a quiet week leading up to Christmas! i had naively expected it would be a slow week. we would be at home. lots of time for baking. crafts. scrapbooking.

add in a husband who had to work out of town. then additional little shopping trips that must have taken 10 times longer. the traffic!! never mind the lines at any of the stores.

ha! i took the kids to grab some groceries. just stuff for our Christmas dinners. and also the little things that we tend to use up quickly. i swear the kids must have found some stray sugar....i stopped for a gingerbread latte to re-energize me. (of course my darlings wanted something too...however, they did not need any extra energy today)

one of the best parts of my day was making cinnamon buns and supper (turkey manicotti...because Aidan insisted that we have a BIG dinner with turkey and all the trimmings. his words. he knows no different....so when i showed him the photo of what i wanted to make, he thought it was awesome. good thing it wasn't the 5 course turkey dinner because he only nibbled. apparently too many cookies in the afternoon?) i'm sure it had nothing to do with Kristian being home and the kids finally taking a break. {wink}

one of the traditions we have adopted is to attend a Christmas Eve service. for the last 4 years we have gone to my cousins' church. it has the music, the candles and the crowd. perfect. never a good seat either!

then we drove around our new community admiring the lights. suddenly our beloved Legislature grounds are so far away....but i still want to go one evening.

another tradition has been for the kids to open ONE gift. pre-picked by us. new pajamas. so far they are always so excited. i am thinking they will be on to our little trick by next year. they love the present and they try them on without complaint. except this year....Kiara held hers up and said, "it's perfect!" then stopped there. we had her "try them on", which she did...then promptly removed! she's a sharp one.

Aidan has been saying for awhile now that he was not sure if he could sleep, he was soooo excited for Christmas. we were afraid of that! with the insistance that they sleep before Santa arrives and skips our house, they laid very still and quiet. lasted about 15 minutes before they were gone to dream of sugar plums.



but before we read their story and prayed, we managed to get a photo. it about sums up the night! classic.




we do the Santa thing. photo. letter. cookies and milk. carrots for Rudolph. they love it. we don't deny or highly promote their belief in Santa. it's part of the fun of childhood.

we do promote the Nativity story. the story of the First Christmas. the reason behind this wonderful season. it is the reason we hope. believe. our story tonight was one my Margaret Wise Brown. Christmas in the Barn. in the background you can see 2 mangers. they made those last week in Sunday School. they LOVE them! it is complete with a picture of a real baby (sketch). they also made paper blankets to keep the baby warm.




ISO 400   f /4.2   0.40 sec

after the sleepheads/grumpybums were in their beds i did some playing around with my camera. really, most of my photos are luck. one of my goals for this next year is to actually understand more terminology and put it into practice. not one of my strengths. something to work on.

just to prove that i am lucky more than professional....this is the FIRST photo i took. all i did was turn off the flash and set the timer. lucky break. very lucky break.

ISO 400   f /4.0   1/16 sec

and this is my 117th. maybe, not sure! haha. but i did take A LOT of test shots. i turned off the flash. set to Shutter priority and lowered my f-stop.

well, the stockings have been filled and are waiting for the morning. we can hope that morning will be after 8. however the reality is that it may be much earlier. the bonus is that we do have a lazy day ahead of us. i'm sure a few afternoon movies cuddled together under blankets will help cheer any grumpies that develop through the morning.

i'm looking forward to the coffee and the home-made cinnamon buns in the morning. yummy! i used to make this a lot more. Canadian Living has a recipe for a syrup that is poured in the bottom of the pan, then have pecans sprinkled over before the buns are added. plus there are chopped pecans mixed with the brown sugar and cinnamon too. definitely not diet food. awesome for a treat, though. it's the only cinnamon bun that can compete with Cinnabon. seriously.

what traditions has your family adopted? do they change as your family grows and expands?

thank you for stopping by to read my thoughts and adventures.

i wish you the merriest of Christmas'!!

the real countdown begins

no photos today.

just words. and a few movie posters!

i'm blogging and watching Holiday Inn. Kristian got called out of town. we warned the kids to be good....since Daddy might just see Santa while he's traveling. given the distance he has to go, i think he feels that he may as well be at the North Pole!

 

it isn't really one of those shows that he likes to watch with me. he can count his blessings on this one!

it has been on at least a dozen times this year already. but you have to watch it at least once.

movies used to have so much singing and dancing. as much as i enjoy a "classic" now and then, i don't miss that the modern movies don't have so much of it. can you picture "Juno" with dance scenes?

but it still has not been broadcast as much as this one. can you believe it was made over 20 years ago?

no singing. no dancing. but the corny scenes and jokes. another one that you have to watch at least once during the holidays. more than once is just too much though. it will be a few years before we let our kids watch this one with us. it has just a little too much information...

i think we'll see if they are interested in this one. it has some cute scenes, but it might be too frightening yet. i'm wondering if Kiara will see a resemblance between her and Cindy-Loo Who.

i let Aidan watch the funny scenes in Home Alone today. i love hearing that boy laugh! he thought it was hilarious the tricks Kevin came up with to get rid of the burglars. however the story line was still a little heavy for him.

maybe the old cartoon version would be better?

i love the SixPenceNoneTheRicher version of the theme song. one of those CD surprises from the 90's.

actually this is one that Aidan has enjoyed watching. one of the few he remembers from last year. i think Kiara will enjoy all the sugar and decorating scenes this year.

we aren't huge encouragers of "believe in Santa" at our house, but we don't do anything to ruin the kids belief in him either. this movie is a fun one. i still think the scenes where he nearly falls off the train or down a tube are frightening....neither of the kids have been disturbed so far.

another classic that you have to see once a year. i love it when the post office brings in the bags of letters addressed to Santa to the courtroom.

Christmas traditions. love them.

today i set up an old artificial tree that Kris has had for years. the kids put a set of lights on them. now they are adding decorations themselves. i am impressed with their creativity. i will definitely need to take lots of photos as the days pass!! Aidan woke up early, got dressed and then wrapped 2 presents before the rest of us woke up. wow!! i have no idea what he wrapped, but he is pretty happy about it all. tomorrow we have some errands to run. i plan to make a stop at Wal-Mart and buy a few rolls of tape. i figure they might enjoy wrapping up some of their toys as well. or who knows what they will come up with on their own!!!

they also decorated a gingerbread house. i've done this for at least 3 years now. next year we will definitely need to let them each have their own. i'm also thinking we can try a home-made version. smaller too. i was trying to recall what i had done differently in the past. i am thinking we put the house together, and then another day did the decorating. we did let it sit for nearly an hour and a half, but it looks more like a shack than anything. fortunately the kids are very pleased with the results. phew! again photos are necessary here.

for us, we enjoy the fun and games associated with Christmas. we do the Santa photos. stockings. plate of cookies for Santa. mostly a combination of the traditions Kristian and i enjoyed as kids. we also do advent calendars. the kids, especially, enjoy the countdown. Christmas Eve is a big deal, and we make a point of attending a Christmas Eve service with the kids. it's always memorable taking the kids out of the house at night! Christmas Day involves a fun breakfast and relaxation as we test out our new toys. i always make a fancy meal and we set our table in our best dinnerware. last year we had rack of lamb.

this year we had a new movie that we all enjoyed. Veggie Tales: Saint Nicholas and the Story of Joyful Giving.

a cute video.

i am so thankful for any messages that my kids get about GIVING being more important than GETTING. i think Christmas is a perfect time of year to remind all of us of that.


what traditions do you have?

nativity sets

i "googled" nativity sets. images.

found these photos. i can name the place where i saw them, but i'm not adding the links. i'm sure anyone could come up with the same photos by doing what i did. probably a copyright issue....but i'm certainly not taking credit for these, nor am i endorsing anything for anyone!







this is a "willow tree" set. i've long admired this one. i'm not sure if it is totally in my style of decorating. hence my hesitation for ever buying it. but it is lovely, isn't it? (i do know it is sold under the 'demadco' name)



Fisher Price has always been one of my favourite toy companies. i don't know how long they have had this set....but i wish i had it five years ago. my kids would have loved to play with it. they are just beyond the 'little people' these days. maybe this one is timeless?



i found this one sold by 'playing mantis'. it has a hefty price tag, but isn't it lovely? i love the carved wood look. the kids could still play with this, and nothing would get shattered. a few extra dents would add to the charm of the wooden figures.



another wooden set. sold by 'mulberry bush'. again, another one the kids could play with. dents and scratches would not add as much charm to the set, but at least nothing would shatter.




by 'haba toys'. great quality. lately they have been making things from bamboo. not sure if this is one of those products. cute and durable. again it could handle it's share of kids play.




found this one a 'more than gifts'. by now you know why i like it!


isn't the painting beautiful here? this one is sold by 'sones'.


i came across this one a few weeks ago. you have no idea how tempted i was to buy it. maybe i'll go back and do it. it is sold as an advent calendar. we're already doing others by playmobil. had i known this one existed when i purchased the others..... i am really not a big playmobile fan. for now the kids are enjoying playing with the few sets we have. i always thought the people looked weird. the further i get into parenting the less weird the characters are becoming. imagine that. something about my kids' happiness being more important than my selfish thoughts.


any sets you recommend?

Aidan sings

concert number two is checked off the list. twice.

this is the first concert Aidan has performed in and he was the most confident. he is not a big group kind of kid at this point, so this was amazing. i am thinking there was some discussion among him and his peers about being nervous. however, they all did very well. no tears were shed (except by the proud mamas and papas!).

his music teacher is definitely one of those special one-of-a-kind type of people. she started out the concerts by asking the parents and grandparents to stand, then they turned on the gymnasium lights. then the kids got to find us and wave. and we got some pictures!

i have a bright flash. i only took 4 photos in total. that is soooo unlike me. normally i like to snap at least 20. the truth is that usually the first one is the one that i like the most. somehow those remaining 19 just make me feel better. weird. i know. there are worse fixations. like noticing that one of his ears looks odd. great angle there. i bet i couldn't repeat that if i tried.

i also had to crop out his neighboring classmates....due to not sure if they should be posted for the internet to view! that added to the graininess. fortunately those kids are allowed in our family photo album, so i'll have a better photo for that! phew!!

i think he was looking for one of his buddies. or me? probably not!


we (as in Kristian and i) dove into new waters this week. no longer have we chosen to rebel against video cameras. we opted against video footage of our wedding - good choice there! we even opted against it for those early years with the kids. well, we did have a camera that took videos. not fabulous videos. but they exist. when Kristian got called out of town and found out he was going to miss another big event in our kids' lives, he did some research. then some shopping.

as it turns out....one parent with one energetic child cannot take photos with a DSLR and a video camera at the same time and be successful in any of those areas. energetic child means that their is some blur in something.

also to note. a camera is awesome for recording SILENT memories. the video camera not only records the memories with sound, but also the background acoustics that would definitely be prefered to be forgotten. like the previously noted child who suddenly had to go to the bathroom badly at the same time her big brother was going to sing his one and only song in the performance. now forever we will hear the joyful and happy chorus of the "12 days of Christmas" sung kindergarten style...but we can also easily be reminded of the time when darling daughter exclaims her immediate need to use a toilet somewhere and her sweet mother shushes her child and begs her to hold her pee for the love of Santa!!! (best to not leave out the giggles and snorts of the neighboring parents who understood both sides of our plight. pity for them to have to overhear such chatter.)

the best part, Daddy will definitely get the REAL feeling of what it would have been like to be there!

Kiara's special day

preschool concerts are so cute. and interesting. and can't forget always entertaining.

i wasn't sure if Kiara even knew there was going to be a special little event hosted by them. she never said a word. although she would suddenly start singing "Frosty the Snowman" and "Jingle Bells" at home or in the car.

this was the concert that almost wasn't. mommy caught some wonderful flu bug that knocked her out for a bit. thank goodness for gravol and all its healing power!! it got me on my feet again for the few hours that her party involved. those who know me well, know that a party (even one for preschoolers) seems to give me more vitality then usual. it nearly killed me to sit in a corner and not be social. yick! it felt weird.




i was trying to remember what Aidan was like for his first preschool concert. i can't remember if he stood with his class or not. best be searching through the photo archives for proof. Kiara stood in the middle and called my name really loudly. then waved. with her big smile, of course.




during the middle of the performance we blew kisses to each other.




turns out she had 2 favourite songs. (i asked later!) and they were the same two that she had been practicing repeatedly at home. here she is singing Jingle Bells with gusto. it was a proud moment. she loves to perform and so far has been confident in front of crowds.




and Santa played a visit too! i think they had asked the kids their favourite colours beforehand...and they each got a kid-sized shovel in that color. apparently Kiara also likes the colour yellow. this was news to me. when i saw her teacher pull the yellow one out of the bag i expected tears. nope. yellow is what she wanted. that girl is full of surprises. they also put up a list of the gifts they wanted for Christmas. for weeks, Kiara has been asking for "make-up" and "princess dresses". however she told the teacher that she wanted a "pink race car". that was news!! coincidentally, the girl before her had asked for the same gift. hmmm.... does she really know what she wants?!

{it reminded me of the time someone asked me what i wanted to be when i grew up. i was probably 6 years old. my answer was a ballerina....even though i never had a lesson....or even understood what it was. i do recall hearing some other girls use that response, so i figured it was good enough for me too. it was also the time when i first learned that i was going to grow up. reality check!}




she has been to enough of Aidan's parties to know the routine. sing. parents clap and hug their kids. then we eat. my dear girl has always known what she wants in the food department. i was very pleased to see that she picked a few healthy choices as well as the treats.

even with me not feeling well, it was a pleasant way to spend the morning. i love that girl! i remember thinking when we were expecting her if i could love another baby as much as my first. how quickly i learned that a mothers' heart multiplies and shares just as much love with another child. i am blessed.

twelve days of Christmas

Aidan is busy practicing his letters, numbers and now singing The 12 Days of Christmas. it is very cute. they have hand actions for each of the days. i've printed off the words for practicing. i made a little book with pictures and numbers and the words to help him out. then i realized we didn't even have the music on any CD in our house. that was a shock! soooo, off to i-tunes i went. there are a lot of versions. kids versions. vintage versions. instrumental. even playing piano versions. why?

this goes well with the version he's singing. plus the cover is cool. yeah, i'm a "little" nerdy and like this corny humour once in awhile. i think when i'm tired of hearing the kids version i added to my playlist, this will be nice to hear some grown up voices.





if he and his classmates keep practicing. for years. think they will sound like this group?





most likely not this year! although his music teacher would be really thrilled!!

baby it's cold outside!

Friday brought nearly 20 centimetres of snow. the temperature was around - 2 Celsius. then the wind picked up. by Saturday morning much of the snow was piled into drifts. Sunday was fairly calm, but cold. this morning the thermometer had dropped to - 28 Celsius. brrrrr!!!





this morning we awoke to discover that the power had gone out during the night. the house was a bit chillier than usual. Aidan's bus was late for the first time ever as well. i took this photo from my back door. {i had it open long enough to snap 3 photos...only because i couldn't handle the cold any longer!}

apparently the cold is with us for the week. at the very least. we can only hope that we will get a break from it for awhile so that we can enjoy our new winter wonderland.

trim the tree, wrap the presents, turn the Christmas music on....

the kids were totally giddy the day we put this up.










the kids put the decorations on the tree faster than i could pull them out of the box!

of course i was also purging the decorations too. some might be good enough to sell in our garage sale. others were definitely not going to be wanted by anyone, so they were trashed. not every decoration needs to be kept for 20 years i decided. no word of a lie. some i have had since i was 21 years old. time to get with the decade and make room for new stuff!


this winter has been off to a better start than last year. last year i tried to take a photo a day for the entire month. then i printed them and compiled them in an album. it was timeconsuming. however i am glad i did. we had a lot of fun i realized. the month had it's share of tough times, but how refreshing to be reminded that there were good times that were awesome. an excellent reminder to think of "things" in the best possible light.



this is all i can show you now. i would say that this is one of my favourites right now. i like the icy and wintery feel i get from it. i took this photo with the new lens Kristian got us. it captures the detail so well.

i found out that i will have another layout published in the Canadian Scrapbooker in March. i've also decided that it does not lose the excitement the second time around! to me, it is a "high five" and there are never enough of those.

in other news, we have had the biggest storm hit our city in 6 years. read more here. our kids haven't seen drifts this high in their life! on Friday i could barely keep up with the snow. the last thing we wanted to do was shovel the 20cm of snow off of our driveway at once...so we shoveled FOUR times in total. it came down faster than we could shovel the first 3 times! thank goodness it was dry snow and not too heavy.

more smiles

this has seriously been the most amazing month!

there is some "gossip" about me. heehee

craft gossip. yup. go HERE.


it's been a long and busy couple of weeks. i am really looking forward to putting my feet up and watching a movie with the kids. or maybe even just sleeping while they watch the movie. either option sounds great. i have a hair appointment to look forward to. ahhhh pampering. one of these days i need to schedule a massage and then the hair appointment in the same evening. that would be bliss.


before i forget...i have decided that learning to take better photos is soooo worth it. again, i came across the most perfect photo moment and did not have my camera! murphy's law strikes again!! this morning there was a bit of hoar frost and light fog. clear skies. a completely visible full moon. even better were the colours with the sun just rising. i really hope i get another moment like that when i have my camera and the knowledge of how to do the photo justice to the real thing. a nice way to start the day don't you think?