Merry Christmas!!!!

traditions.

some stay the same every year. some get tossed or revamped.

life is never dull, regardless of the tradition.

today slipped by us very quickly. a last minute trip to replace our Beta fish. Prince Blue II. a side trip to see the toy section at Chapters. {very fun for the kids} then a surprise visit from an old neighbour!

for some reason i thought our Christmas Eve Candlelight service was at 7pm. thankfully i had a brain-wave to double check that. so we lost an hour...but made it to the service!

it seriously is amazing what we try to squeeze into an hour. it meant a change in our supper plans. and no cookie cutting and baking.

when i was taking photos later tonight i saw an interesting scene at our Nativity....



it had been moved to a new location. and possibly bumped. however. there is Mary, face down. it was quite a day for her too! ha!!


so we had our second supper {Christmas holidays makes me feel more like a Hobbit....seems like all we are doing is snacking!}. our last minute first supper was peanut butter and jam sandwiches. second supper had yogurt, applesauce, cheese, crackers and dip. the kids didn't complain about that! we told them it was our 'Midnight Supper'. then they got all excited because they stayed up til' midnight.

i put together a Shepherd's Pie that we were supposed to eat tonight. instead it is still in the fridge. guess what we're having for our Christmas Day lunch?! yup. 2 REAL meals, to make up for our many snacks today.

Aidan just figured out that they get pajama's every Christmas Eve. he made that announcement a week ago. he has also figured out - now that he can read - that there are some presents for him under the tree before Christmas Eve. he also started to count. and make guesses as to the contents. i think Christmas present traditions have taken a new turn for our family.



since the pj's are now not a surprise....i had to change it up a bit!

the "Santa's Sleigh" bells!! and the cutest felt ornaments from Chapters.



even though they knew the pajamas were coming....they still were excited to quickly change into them.



but the bell confused them. do they hang it on the tree? what do they do with it?

when they were told they got to take them to bed with them, they were slightly shocked. i'm sure they thought momma had had too much egg nog! but they were told that if they were ringing them when Santa came, then he would not come to our house. which worried them! it was EXTREMELY quiet in their beds tonight as they fell asleep.


and now our family photo in front of the tree is now another tradition.



the kids are soooo cooperative! this was our "make funny faces" pose to get Kiara to find a happy look for her face.



i guess the kids are a bad influence on us. this was our "fishy face" pose. only the kids were listening. i love how Aidan is oblivious to the background scene, and Kiara is fully curious!



this was the best one of the evening.


i had to get a shot of the tree with the presents laid out and the stockings hung (and filled).



there is something so romantic about Christmas tree photos. at night. with presents beneath the tree. and the glow on our hardwood floors. i just love the sparkle in the lights too.



Santa and Rudolph enjoyed their treats too. Aidan wrote a note for Santa. sooo cute. i've hidden it away and intend to scrapbook it.

"Dear Santa. Merry Chistmas Santa. thanks for the gifts. we hope you like the cookies. from: Aidan."

100% his thoughts and words.

it was rolled up into the special Santa tube mailbox. he'll find a note from Santa in the morning. next year i'm going to have them put their Christmas Wish Lists in it. we ran out of time this year.

Kiara made a special reindeer food mix to sprinkle on the snow. that was exciting!

they will get a surprise visit form Santa in the morning. our next door neighbour will be dressing up and delivering gifts for several of the families! hopefully he won't say too much and give away the surprise to the kids. he is also bringing the kids each a gift....which we conveniently sent over earlier tonight. if they do see through the disguise, it may throw them through a loop if they know that Santa lives next door...


i plan to take a few days to hang out and do mom-stuff with my family. i may not post again until New Years'. but in the meantime....

Merry Christmas! 

i hope that you have wonderful, fun, relaxing 

and memorable celebrations.

getting ready

the tree is decorated. i don't think i've taken a photo of that yet. it will get done. eventually.

i still need to bake cookies. at this point any kind will do! i heard Santa likes chocolate chip....hope that is not a myth. the butter is softening on my counter as i speak. it is on the to-do list for today. i'm sure we'll do sugar cookies. i may be accused of ruining Christmas if my kids don't get to lick decorate icing and then feast on their hard efforts after. 

but.

the cards are DONE. yes, i'm sure you could hear my screams of delight at your house. that was me. 

almost all our presents are wrapped. i am a little worried. it seemed to get done quickly this year. i even added ribbons and tags at the same time. {honestly, the last time i did that had to have been before Aidan was walking} i'm not worried that i'm nearly done and enjoyed the process. i am worried that i missed something. a horrible mistake to make with young kids.

we had our staff Christmas party last week. so fun! yummy food and drinks. i think i should have not eaten that day....it was brutal to see and smell all the yummy treats and be totally full. i ate what i could! making a mental note for next year... we always have a lot of fun and laughs together. it was fun to have ALL of us together. so rare. often it is just a few of us, and we are passing one another on shifts and such. i was completely and utterly surprised to see what gift was wrapped for me. oh. help. {scream!} the Vagabond.....

several of us got one and it was fun to open them together! i know all of us would have been excited to get this gift from our families....but it was soooo much more fun to be excited together and have all of us know exactly how exciting it was. on the heels of the 12 Tags of Christmas where we all got to watch and drool over each new tag. so fun! 

we made our traditional trip to see Santa at the mall this week. a great Santa!! he asked the kids if they had been good this year. they joyfully reply that "they had been very good." to which Santa says, "most of the time." ha!! is that not the best?! i wish i could have taken pictures of their faces. 

they were very patient as i drove all over the city too. it helped that they had movies, games and colouring books to occupy them. but we finished! 

i do like to wear photo family friendly pajamas for Christmas day. just something fun about having a special day to stay in your pjs for nearly the entire day. however my current set is OLD. i did resort to begging the kids to "help" me choose new ones. Kiara didn't think i needed any. "just sew the holes, mom!" we should all be glad that i don't always listen to the four year old. although it is always good to know that she likes them! ha!!

i had to FedEx a parcel. and learned that not all self-service drop offs will take ground deliveries. also i was reminded to not believe everything i read on their website when it comes to addresses. besides that, i will still prefer to use their courier services over Canada Post any day! so far i have found them MUCH cheaper and FASTER and very RELIABLE up to this point. except their website "address finder" part. 

i was reminded by a friend about this mug:

he found it on his doorstep one day, saying "Merry Christmas!" the wild part is that it totally DOES look like a camera lens. 

you can order them from Photojojo. 

as i was browsing, they also had this link:

using old lenses and cameras as a flower pots. apparently they are not designed to hold water. {insert laugh} but they have suggestions on how to get around that problem.

as cute as they are.....i just don't think i have it in me to do this one. not that i have or even hope to have an expensive flower pot such as these. however, it is just one of those "huh. wow. never would have thought of that one." kind of things. 

off to make our cookies. then look at photos on iPhoto...must choose a print a few for some projects. work and gift related. also, laundry mountain. 

i may visit this site today and arrange for some North Pole correspondence for the kids. i've heard there are some cool iPhone apps too. 

i found some neat bells at Pier1imports last week. they were $1 each and i knew the kids would love them. they totally reminded me of the bells on the Polar Express. with all the new tech gadgets available to track Santa, i think it will never be out of date to have jingle bells like these. tech is fun. but these are more magical. in my opinion. 

i haven't snapped a photo of it yet....but Jan gave me the cutest little decoration. it is actually a little capsule where the kids can write a note to Santa! Aidan is excited about that part. {Kiara is the vocal one, but with Aidan he often shows his excitement by getting quiet. later we discover his true feelings.} he was one step ahead of me....he made a wish list at home and at school. then he wanted to type them up on the computer. well....he printed it out, then cut it smaller. why? so that it can fit on the already enclosed Santa letter sheet!

okay, the butter is soft and the kids are ready to get baking! i'll stop procrastinating.

wish me luck. 

and the news this week...

where is time going?! i am still needing to finish my Christmas shopping...but finding it tough this year to do without the kids. it was so easy to do when they were small and had no idea what i was buying....or i could even hide it from them. these days its tough to buy a pack of gum without them discovering it! the time passes so quickly when they are both in school and i don't have much time in the evenings to do it. online shopping looks very appealing right now. if i knew it would be delivered in time...



Kristian and Kiara bought a pet Beta fish earlier this year. he became known as Princess Purple. whether or not he knew the meaning of the word 'princess', he never let on. neither did the fact that he was purple. anyways it ended up being my job to clean the tank. and it sure got dirty with just one fish in it! last week i thought of putting him in a smaller tank that might be easier to clean. after doing that i realized that his castle did not fit inside it, and he loved the castle. so i moved him back to the original tank. too many moves or too much temperature change....the shock killed him in 24 hours. great. Kiara is having a tough time getting over this death.



even with Prince Blue in the picture. she was definite about wanting a blue fish. part of me wishes i had just gone to the store on my own and came back with a replacement fish. but then, she would have noticed a detail absent that i would have missed. when Princess Purple died, he turned gold. the kids noticed his colour was changing before he even became fully dead. so odd!

Prince Blue was purchased along with a new smaller tank. he is pretty active and outgoing. i can't believe i just described the personality of a fish. really. but it is true!

by the way, Prince Blue has a middle name. oh, i am not kidding. it is Frosty the Snowman. we are in for some treats. Kiara has quite the imagination.





last night was her preschool Christmas concert. she has been excited for weeks about this! it was also the first concert our kids have participated in that Kristian was able to attend. it was a very big night.



she sang with all her might!

they had yummy snacks and fun Christmas crafts after the program.

we came home and Kiara commented that we should leave out some cookies for Santa. what?! she apparently knew that Santa would come after the concert....and took that to mean immediately! this next week and a half will be a long one for her. and Aidan. so, essentially, it will also be a long one for me. unless i don't get my list completed by Monday!

celebrating

i picked up some glittery embossing powder on Friday. Ancient Gold and Enchanted Gold. can't go wrong with names like that!

i was anxious to give them a try...




my little princess loves to get dirty. she  loves to stamp. i also discovered {after my yellow stamp pad now appears blue} that she loves to blend and mix colours. despite staining my light coloured pads...she did get some neat effects from this blended stamping.

note to self: buy a rubber roller for her to blend colours on.

there is something about heat embossing. the kids are drawn to it. watching the powders melt and become shiny and glittery. mesmerizing.



our annual Kids Helping Kids art and card sale was scheduled for Sunday. so was the Christmas party hosted by Kristian's company. this year i sent a flyer with Kris to work. the owner of the company suggested that the kids set up a table at the party.

great idea! i would never thought of asking that myself.

in discussion with my friend and collaborator {ha! at times} Gloria, we decided the kids should not split up our time or cards between the two sites. instead put out their display and cards at just the kids' party.

i was hoping the kids would raise at least $100 towards the whole fundraiser. it wasn't part of the advertising for the party. most of the people were parents with young kids. i did wonder about the interest it may generate among the kids and create some inspiration for what they can do for others. seriously i am always impressed with my kids' desire to help others, and have a good attitude about it. i think it will always be meaningful for them to look back and see that they used their talents to help people they did not know when they were only toddlers and preschoolers. if they can make a difference at that age...think of what is possible for them as a teenager...adult.

i am thankful for the Stollery. i am thankful for healthy children and pray that we don't have to know the greatness of the hospital firsthand. my kids don't have a great understanding that some kids just spend too many days fighting illness and disease and have to spend Christmas in the hospital.

the owner {of the company Kris works for}, his wife, and their boys know differently. they are thankful for the care and medical expertise. their son had to have a heart transplant at 6 months old. he is now a teenager and doing well. 

one of the kids joined the art sale after having lost his sister suddenly a few months ago. he was happy to help.

many thanks to one of my bosses', Pat for donating the biggest box of paper and scrapbooking goodies my kids had ever seen. we split it up among all the kids {much to Aidans' dismay....he did get first picks despite wanting the entire box to himself!}. much thanks as well to Urban Scrapbook for lending me some display stands too.

here is more info about Kelley and the fundraiser she began:

ctv news, Edmonton, 2009

Special Event Rentals (past sponsor)

this is our little display. it is our third year being part of the fundraiser. it definitely felt weird to not be with the others!

however it turned out great. you see, Santa also attended the party. never hurts to get a word in with the man in red!

well. my expectations were far surpassed. my kids raised $785 for the Stollery Children's Hospital. donated by parents of young children. and a few grandparents. my kids don't know the difference yet between $10 and $100. they were just happy that people liked their cards well enough to buy them. it was important for them to leave the party with fewer cards than they brought. they knew that one card would make a difference.

combined with the sale at Gloria's house, it looks like the kids raised nearly $2500 for the Stollery Children's Hospital.

well done kids!!


and our two darlings were able to have a chat with the man in the red suit....


Aidan wants a good Beyblade and for Santa to surprise him.
Kiara wants a pink nutcracker. (after seeing one at HomeSense last week.)

they crack me up!

i don't have a photo of Kiara with Santa. missed the chance when she ran up to hug him when he entered the room. missed it again when she budded in front of 40 children, sneaking between the elves to an empty lap. not even when she sat on his lap after Aidan to try and get another gift. she is quite the girl!

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.

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!