A Wonderful Christmas Eve

I love Christmas Eve! I love to going to church. I love having dinner with my family. I love opening gifts together. We had a great night!

My brother Andrew reading a story to the kids as they await dinner.

My mom made a very scrumptious ham dinner. So so good!

This is us....as you may as well know already!

The reason for our celebrations!

There is always a goofy element to the evening festivities!

Keith was the lucky recipient of an AE gift card.

My mom was very happy with her new foot spa.

Nate got a 'B-Wing' fighter. Whatever that is!

And Chad received a 'Y-Wing' fighter. They only wanted Star Wars stuff this year and boy oh boy did they load up!

I think that my Dad's blog is going to become even more interesting with his new Photoshop 6!

And yes.....after midnight even the most excited wee boy started to fade.

Along with some wonderful new 600 count bedsheets and a hostess set my mom gave me some Christmas money. I LOVE how she wrote it in my maiden name....forgetting that I've been married 13 years now!!!!

Angel Alert!

This weekend both boys were in our church's Kidstown Choir production. I think I can objectively say it was an excellent show! Nate and Chad had been practicing weekly since September and it showed. The kids did a fantastic job!

My littlest angel

My wiseman

The boys with Uncle Murray and Auntie Tracy. It meant everything to the kids that you guys came to watch them. Thank you for making the effort to come!!!

And Grandma came twice! Thanks for your support too! Nana and Grandad were there as well. They did the show three times this weekend so they are now plum-tuckered. Ahhhhh...it's such a good feeling to watch your kids up on stage singing their hearts out for God's glory!
After the show we thought the kids should be rewarded for their hard work so we went out for lunch. A bit of a treat since we don't take them out often.
Since this production has been quite the focus for the past while it's hard to believe that tomorrow is Christmas Eve! We are so excited and look forward to a wonderful Christmas.

Puffs and Christmas Vacation!

My first ever attempt at cream puffs. I must admit they were delicious! Chad really enjoys the cream puff samples we get at Costco and has often asked me to buy them. The cheap Mennonite in me doesn't like to buy things I can make. So I needed to make good on my promise to Chad to make cream puffs! My mom often made them for us when I was kid. She actually made a homemade dessert almost every night of the week. I think somehow my dad worked it into the wedding vows. 'Woman, thou shall provide me a fresh delicious dessert each day'. My dad has a major sweet tooth!
Growing up I totally took it for granted until one of my little friends had dinner at our house and was in AWE of getting a delicious dessert. She told us that they only got dessert on specials occasions. Here I thought EVERYONE got dessert each day made by their mom!!!

And to my joy it's now Christmas vacation! Two weeks of not making lunches, washing gym strip, driving to school and getting the kids up at the crack of dawn. Yeehaw!
The kids had a concert of sorts at their final assembly today. Unfortunately I had to work but Keith went and took a bit of video so I could hear their singing. Now you can too :)

Spicing Up the Tuesday Routine

We had a little communication break-down yesterday. That would be between Chad and myself.
The strangest thing about the whole situation is that I had a funny feeling it might happen.

It all started with a phone call on my cell around 3:15pm just as I was driving toward the bus stop to pick up the kids. It was the school secretary and she asked: Are you looking for Chad? I answered: Nooooooo....actually I am just on my way to pick them up from the bus stop!

She told me that Chad was sitting at the office insisting that I was going to pick him up from school that day. He did not board the bus and was very adamant that I was coming. Oh dear. It was my fault. I should never have mentioned on Monday that I was picking them up from school on WEDNESDAY! He was really confused. His teacher was ever more confused because Chad was so persuasive yet I had not left a note in his school planner (which I always do if he is not taking the bus home). She was torn and felt horrible....called and emailed me apologizing profusely. Which there was no need for, I might add.

So I told the secretary that I'd be there in 20 minutes because I had to get Nate from the bus stop first. Nate gets off the bus and is completely panicked. He's all upset because Chad isn't on the bus and he doesn't know where was and couldn't find him after school when it was time to board the bus! Total gong show. I reassured him it was okay....Chad was safe and it was a little mix-up. Oh right, and while I was sitting there in my car waiting for the bus, some creepy looking man walks right up to my car and motions to talk to me. I quickly locked my door and let down my window a crack. He asked to use my car lighter. Yeah right buddy! But since I am so polite I cannot say what I am thinking ( such as: bug off you creep) and say that I am not comfortable with that. He ambles off but looks rather suspicious as he checks out every car on the street. That was just what I needed....a nice car-jacking as my children are waiting for me!

So I drove rather quickly to the school to find Chad in the care of the PE teacher who was just wrapping up basketball practice. Mr. T told me that Chad picked a good day to hang out because he had brought him sugar cookies that day so he could really do no wrong :) Good timing on that one! So I bring Chad to the car and say very gently....What happened Chad? And the poor boy burst into tears. He was so stressed about the whole thing. So I spent the drive home reassuring him that it was okay and yes, we have to tell dad and no, no one is mad at him!

And that the end of the story folks. I am picking up the kids from school today and hoping really hard Chad doesn't get on the bus!!!!!

The main character of the story at 18 months old!

Party On!

One of the side effects of the festive season is loads of blogging material. I realize it's just a repeat of last year's December posts with everyone just looking one year older but here we go anyways!

Keith and I are both very fortunate to work for employers that host wonderful Christmas parties. My office has it's own little party every year for just the staff. My boss has been very gracious each year to host it at her home. She has been my manager for almost 15 years so I really feel 'at home' there and enjoy it more each year.

Me and one of my wonderful co-workers. I work with the best bunch of ladies ever!

Then our corporate office throws a huge bash for staff and their spouses. They do go all out, starting with a champagne reception, followed by dinner, dessert and a dance. We always have a great time!

On top of all these good times, both of our places of employment give parties for the kids. Now that is a huge treat! I grew up in a home with a self-employed dad so this was a foreign concept to me. Our boys have been very lucky to be able to go to two parties each Christmas that are completely catered to kids! The credit union hosted a wonderful party at the bowling alley a few weeks ago. It was held on the Sunday where we had a dump of snow so there was a very poor turn out. Fortunately that meant that our kids were bowling in a lane all by themselves and really didn't have to wait for their turns. There was more than enough food and no big line up to see Santa either!

Nathan got a cool 3D tank puzzle and Chad got a dinosaur activity set. Perfect for him as he is very much into creating and drawing at the moment.
Today was another party for them at the firehall. Santa came, as per tradition on the fire truck and took time to chat with each child and give them a gift. Along with that was a hot dog lunch, craft table and cookie decorating station. The boys had a wonderful time!

Chad getting a hot dog. Not sure if that is the highlight or if Santa is?! He loves hot dogs and I rarely make them at home.

Chad made this cute little card at the craft table. Nate was too cool for that and played foosball with a new friend.

Then Santa arrived with the lights and sirens. Good times.

Chad and Santa having a heart to heart.

He loved his gift. Sort some of Mega Blocks super ATV thing-a-ma-bobber.

Nathan having his turn with the man. I have a feeling this could be the last year Nate will sit on his lap. Hmmmm....we'll see!

Nathan received a Mustang model to put together. He's working on it as I type.

I do believe that we are now done the work parties. Next on the Christmas agenda are the family gatherings. The highlight of my Christmas season!

Cookie Day

I am SO happy we didn't have to venture forth today to any sort of mall or store. I hear it's insanely busy out there. We got to spend the afternoon decorating sugar cookies instead. Fun for a while and then I left Keith to finish up. He has lots of patience and creativity. I do not.

I let the boys do some too.....they had a great time and hope to hand a few out to their school friends.

Also, the weekend newspapers brought a two surprises. Well I was surprised anyhow...Keith told me afterwards he was expecting this since the reporters have been snapping away around the hall lately. I have clipped them for posterity. If I can't be his biggest fan, then who can be?!

Shopping Complete

Happy to say that Keith and I completed our Christmas shopping today! We were focused and got the job done in just a few hours. Yippee! I don't want to set foot in the mall again now until next year.
I have to make a restaurant recommendation as well. Keith and I had a gift certificate for 'Restaurant 62' and stopped there for lunch today. It was VERY good. Fresh and tasty. I had a chicken and avacado wrap and Keith had the chicken club sandwich. Mine came with a delicious caesar salad and Keith had a delicious roasted tomato soup. The service was also very good.....attentive but not over-bearing. It's a fine line! We look forward to trying it out for dinner sometime in the future.

And because posts are lonely without pictures, here is one of me at Christmas....maybe 1974. Chubby as ever!

PS. My dad tells a really good story on his blog today (well, I liked it). Check it out!

Not What I Was Expecting

I am showing you last year's Santa photo compared to today's experience. Quite a night and day difference wouldn't you say? Last year's Santa was friendly and handsome. This year's was bloated and creepy. The photo today was completely over-exposed too. Mrs Claus had a smoker's hack and was a bit gruff. If you were going to get your pictures done at Sevenoaks, I'd recommend you find another mall!

Parenting Error #1068

Just chalk up another poor parenting moment in my career as mum.

Nathan came home from school yesterday in a bit of a funk. There had been an assembly at school that day and they had announced all the students who had gotten on either the honor roll or effort roll. Nathan told me that his name wasn't called and he was pretty confused about why! Understandable. I told him that I didn't understand either and decided to pull out his report card to double check his grades. As I re-read the accompanying notice with the report I saw that indeed he did NOT get on the honor roll. They take the grades from the four core academic subjects ONLY ..... not the other courses such as fine arts or PE. Ugh. So indeed Nathan needed 13 pts to reach honor roll and only got 12 points.

I had to tell him I made an awful mistake and I was ever so sorry.

Definitely not a good feeling....poor kid.

Food and Music

Each Christmas our church puts on a big musical production that is run over two seperate week-ends. The amount of planning and work is enormous and takes many volunteers. For the past few years, my friend Jillian and I have taken a shift helping out in the kitchen. An easy choice as we both love food :) It's great fun to arrange the desserts on the plates and sneak 'samples' as well.

Oh dear...I should have moved those finger cloths from the foreground. We had to constantly wipe our sticky fingers. No licking them off!

Yum....look at all those desserts. Well done Jill....you are a fabulous kitchen goddess! We had a great time and there were even some leftovers to take home when the night was over. We'll be back next year!

As for the musical aspect of this post, have any of you heard 'Celtic Woman'? If not you must! Perhaps beautiful, angelic singing is not your cup of tea but it makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Truly lovely. I bought their Christmas CD today and it's utterly gorgeous. Anyhow...go and check out their website for a sample. They are often shown on PBS during their pledge drives.

I'm Weary

Sigh.....I'm tired. It's been a long week. Work has been slow and slow days seem to suck the life right out of me. I thrive in a busy atmosphere....I love the sense of accomplishment I get.
Each day has seemed so long this week. Today was my first day off since Sunday and I did use it wisely. I took the entire morning to clean all three bathrooms thoroughly, dust, tidy, do three loads of laundry and vacuum the house. It looked so nice with the sun streaming through the back windows. Shiny and fresh. It doesn't take long for that look to go away though......five hours of the boys being home and it's all hodge-podge. Sigh.
I had the joy of laying in the dentist chair for 45 minutes this afternoon. I didn't think I was nervous but after he was done with my filling I realized that my whole body had been tensed up the entire time. I felt very stiff as I climbed out of the chair. I supposed I have some deep rooted (ha ha...get it?)fear about him hitting a nerve as he is drilling or something crazy like that. Anyhow, I must give credit to my children who sat in the waiting room the entire time and were as good as gold. The receptionist told me they were excellent. So it's good to know that bribes work :) I had told them that if they were good I'd let them each pick out some ice cream. I didn't take into account that I would look like a freak with a half frozen face so I bypassed the embarrassment and called Keith to get him to stop by the store on his way home from work. The bright spot in my day was that Bryer's (our favorite brand) was on sale. And you all know how much I love a sale! Now it's time to try out that ice cream, cuddle up on the couch with Keith and watch Survivor.

How to Enjoy a Snowy Saturday ~ Kid Style

You first start out the day with yummy pancakes on the griddle made by the finest cook.

Then you partake of the pancakes and do your best to look unphotogenic.

Then you get your assistant to dress you in your snow gear.

And finally you head outside with your family and enjoy every moment of the crisp wonderful snow!