Christmas 2008

Since I'm not out shopping I guess I will blog. Boxing Day is always crazy and after the arrival of my children I have stayed far away! I do hope to get to Old Navy as that's my fave on Boxing week. The boys Christmas Eve pajamas were from last year boxing week! Fun to pull something out after a year! Plus I always double those jammies up as long johns. Goodness knows we need them. Actually yesterday, Christmas Day, was a heat wave at -12 and today should reach -8 but as per usual we are expecting a storm and a fair bit of snow. If it's not one it's the other. Chris is home today and has been throwing up all night, yuck. We have 1 week before we leave so please bugs GO AWAY!!! Our house is wall to wall toys and is a tad overwhelming. I did manage to clean up all the paper before we went to my mom's yesterday but I'm already wondering where all these toys will go. The boys are playing like crazy and it's kind of nice to have a bit less fussing coming from Caleb. Should have brought a huge sack of toys to church and maybe we would have survived longer than 10 minutes. Boy is that frustrating to go somewhere only to stand outside by yourself chasing a little one and miss everything. I guess I wouldn't really call Christmas relaxing but it is great to see the boys faces and their excitement. They also enjoyed snuggling with their aunts and uncles and playing like crazy with their cousins. Christmas was fun. It was nice to have my sister in law in town from Vancouver and her boyfriend came for a few days as well. We even got some family pictures taken which turned out well despite fevers and the like. Christmas Eve was nice at Chris' parents and we enjoyed a good meal before presents and church. Christmas day we enjoyed relaxing a bit at home surrounded by toys and watching the kids have fun. I played my new Singstar game for Playstation 3 although I was alone as I guess I frightened everyone away. Chris said I sounded like a sick cat. Thanks. I had fun. Now I'm going to try to regroup and then start packing as that is going to be somewhat tricky to be organized for 2 weeks. I'm glad there is a Walmart in Cancun! I've got gift certs for mani and pedi's that I look forward to doing before we leave so that I have nice toes for the beach! Babysitters??? Anyone??? I'm sure the week will go by fast especially with New Year's and on Sunday we go to Steinbach which we always look forward to. Here's a bunch of fun pics from Christmas. Happy New Year!

I haven't been able to update this blog because I've been to cold! Honestly, 2 or 3 weeks of -40c temperature is just not right. And it continues to stay cold into Christmas week. The roads are icy and busy and it's very miserable going out running errands and shopping. The kids have been sick again and continue to cough miserably, I hope they will be ok for the holidays. Mostly we stick to home but have had a few nice outings and starting tomorrow we will keep busy until Boxing Day. Carson had a little program at preschool today, so cute. My mom had a great program for the kids a while back that they loved and tomorrow Carson and I are going to "Franklin's Christmas" . It'll be nice to do something special with just him and Caleb will enjoy the attention he gets from my mom. We look forward to Christmas and enjoying the excitement of the kids. It makes it fun. Then right after the new year we are heading to Cancun for 2 weeks with the kids so we really look forward to that. We are going where the deals led us and are staying at a family resort with a big pirate ship waterpark. So we'll have some great pics to post shortly and in the meantime Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Full Christmas Mode

As soon as December hits you can jolt yourself into the christmas spirit without feeling too early. Now you just feel overwhelmed. These last 2 weeks we've actually had places to go which is a change for us! Carson had his last soccer and his last dance class. For January I think we'll stay at home and stick just to music lessons until spring. He really enjoyed the dance class (soccer not so much) and he was so excited to show off to Grammi, Grampi, Nana, mommy and daddy at his last class. They did the most adorable little routine to the Beatles "I wanna hold your hand". We also had a very nice family evening at my mom's church which included supper, bouncers and an illusionist show. On Sunday we went to my in laws church to see the annual Living Christmas Tree. It was the first year that we took Carson so we had a little dinner date with just him beforehand and that was special. My mother in law sings in the choir at the top of the tree and Carson thought that was pretty cool. The play was a bit long for him but it was nice to just worry about 1 kid that's only a quarter of Caleb's squirminess. Yesterday I was very happy to have a good friend of mine come to watch the kids while I ran around running errands and even doing a few things for myself - wow!! I was pretty pumped. I didn't come home with tons of bags or anything but I did feel like a human being and enjoyed smiling at other people and even having little conversations with other people in line and stuff. I know that sounds weird but when you're dealing with 2 little ones in the store you're probably not smiling. We're all healthy right now which is also a great thing after the things going around the last few weeks. I was quite sick and luckily the boys only got their millionth cold which is better than flu. The weather is starting to get colder which we knew was coming but still is a bummer. Stacey and I took the kids downtown this week to get their passports and we were grateful we didn't park too far away because the temperature really dropped. Their pictures were so adorable for their passports. It was funny to say to not smile for once. We have not booked our trip south yet and still plan to book last minute although it should be interesting to see what's left by then because there has been alot of changes this winter to the flights out of Winnipeg. They are few and far between and many are not direct (no way with kids) so we will see what we get. I still am hoping to go to Punta Cana, DR and have found some great resorts for the kids. We hope to go at the very beginning of January as it seems that's when the deals are. We are looking forward to some more Christmas functions in the next few days and hopefully I will finish my online photo projects and I guess I have to put up the tree. I'm curious to see what Caleb will do to it. Yikes. Well, enjoy the preparation for Christmas and I'll post some pictures of the kids and their excitement of the season. Oh and enjoy my Christmas card cuz those things are sure stressful!

Party Season

Tis the season for parties so I decided to kick it all off with my Pampered Chef party on Nov. 10. I had a great time and really appreciated all my friends and family coming out. I think I had 16 people so it was a good turnout and now that the snow and the ice has arrived you never know if it'll be a driving night. I told myself I wouldn't get too stressed out about it but I guess I did cuz I spent alot of time cleaning my well lived in house! Mostly it was tidying the piles that pile up, so I was happy to have an excuse and motivation to do that. The party went smoothly with my friend Robyn as the consultant and we made three or four recipes simultaneously which we later enjoyed. Neat concept and a fun ladies night which we all needed. So now I can add all sorts of new Pampered Chef items to my collection of well used kitchen products at a great discounted hostess price! I love a good deal. The rest of the week was uneventful as I fought a bit of a flu bug and a migraine. Man, it's not easy being sick when you have kids and Caleb had a great time dumping a huge container of puffed wheat, pulling out every CD and generally being a mischief maker. He must of known I had no fight in me. Anyways the boys enjoyed some time with Daddy doing their special activity together, hot tubbing. Caleb was anxiously awaiting his turn to be carried across the snow by Daddy. He looked so adorable in his little housecoat. (Thanks Julie!!!)

November Weather

Usually we're already freezing with snow on the ground but this week has been so nice and the boys and I have been taking advantage of it. On Monday I met my friends at this great Pirate park that we've never been to and we had so much fun. It would be nice if it lasted but we know better! (the pic is of my friend Annette's son Ethan)

Halloween

It seemed funny putting Carson's costume on so early in the morning since he wore it to school. He looked so cute and he was excited. I even dressed up Caleb when I picked Carson up. After school I surprised my mom and went to her work. It was tough to squeeze it in but it was well worth it to see the residents smile when they saw the boys in their costumes. They were thrilled and they even got some treats. The boys are always good when we go there and smile, shake hands and say lots of hellos and goodbyes. Caleb is so sweet and not shy at all. It ended up being a beautiful day which was nice and we enjoyed visiting the neighbors and taking pics outside before Daddy got home. When Chris came home we went to the mall. It seemed like fewer stores gave away candy this year, not that we needed it! The boys had fun and it's a great warm and safe environment. After trick or treating we went out for supper which was a treat for mommy! Caleb was so cute and said "trick or treat" so perfectly. He also said "thank you" a million times and everyone understood him and oohed and aaahed. He even roared. Chris said it was Caleb's year to be the cute one!

Celine Dion

Well, after waiting a whole year the big day had finally arrived and I was so excited. It was neat that Celine's new album and her appearance on Oprah were on the same day so that helped get me even more pumped. And the reviews for the show the night before were great. We had a great dinner beforehand and then headed to the show. We were very pleased with the seats and hatched a texting plan to switch halfway through. Mom and I sat on the floor to start and we really enjoyed the opening act, an impressionist singer who was extremely talented and funny. When the show started I did not cry like I thought I would but instead sat at the edge of my seat swaying and singing every single word to every single song, new and old. I probably looked ridiculous since I was the only one there who seemed at all excited. There were lots of older people and nobody stood or anything. The sold out show did not have a good vibe so that sucked but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The stage show was amazing with huge screens and great dancers and moving sidewalk things. Celine changed many times, was flawless and looked and sounded amazing. It was fun to switch seats as these were a totally different view and her stage jutted out with a catwalk into our section. Mom and I were the only ones standing and cheering around us and mom looked great in her 1999 tour Celine shirt. (Ha, Stacey)The show was over way too fast and I mourned for days that the show was over. See you again, Celine.

October Update

Don't you feel like Christmas is just around the corner? Only 2 months away already! Maybe it's because we're doing so much shopping around on line these days. I guess for me that's good since it's nearly impossible taking my guys to the store lately. Caleb has been a handful lately with a lot of screaming going on and a lot of headaches for me. Changing, dressing, eating and everything in between ends in a temper tantrum. That was earlier in the week and now yesterday and today he's been great. Strange. Maybe he's getting his molars. It's tough at this age, hopefully it's just a stage because it's not fun being a mom when you're surrounded by screams all day.
Last week my sister came along with us and helped me take the kids to the Manitoba Children's museum. We had tons of fun and the kids enjoyed it. This week we've had 3 playdates which is probably what will get us through the winter this year. Carson has a great friend in preschool and now so do I and I am really grateful to meet new people. Not too much going on right now but next week I look forward to the Celine Dion concert and dressing up the boys for Halloween. I will update next week with those cute pics and in the meantime here's a pic of thanksgiving with my family in Steinbach and a few sample shots of a photo shoot in our neighbor's yard.

Movie Night

I guess the one good thing about winter is holing ourselves up in our basement and watching movies. Our movie room was finished by Chris a while ago but you feel guilty watching movies in the summer so we haven't used it much. But we've finally figured out how to use the PVR so Survivor in HD 7.1 is a whole lot more exciting! I've just been waiting to have some friends over to watch Sex in the City. I'm not a huge fan but it seems like fun. And no babysitters are needed cuz all the action is right here! It looks great-Chris did an amazing job start to finish. One movie I would recommend is Nim's Island. The kids loved it and even Caleb is going around the house saying "Nim Nim" He's so hilarious right now and is putting 2 words together like crazy. "Hi bud" he kept saying yesterday to Chris and he's finally saying Mommy and Daddy and Carson instead of Connie. It sounds so cute when he says Carson (although Carson's little English friend Harvey is a close second)Last week was the nail polish incident where he dumped an entire bottle in my bathroom. He came up to me saying "mess mess" with the guiltiest look on his face. At the time I was so stressed otherwise I would have taken a picture to prove how awful it was and put it on here. Then this week he decided to carry his and Carson's cereal bowls from the kitchen to the living room, of course dumping them both as he went along. Oh my gosh, he keeps me busy...As my small escape I've been dreaming of our winter holiday and pouring over trip advisor.com trying to find the best place to go. Prices are really good already although we'll still book last minute and hope they get better. Also you can check the weather when you go last minute and be sure no one is sick. So if you have any questions (or want to join us-must help with kids) ask me cuz I know everything there is to know about the resorts in mexico and dominican. I'm really leaning towards Punta Cana right now. The beach looks amazing and there are a lot of really nice 5 star resorts there. This dreaming is a strange hobby I suppose, and kind of a waste of time but it does help me cope as the days get shorter and the screams louder! Here's some pics of the movie room and memories from last winter.

Autotown

I was parking at Autotown last weekend when I went to the Sheryl Crow concert (good, by the way) and when I returned it was dark and the shop looked so different all lit up so I thought I would take a few pictures. We sort of take for granted that Chris owns it because it's "work" to him but they have worked so hard and it looks good and I'm very proud of him. They have bought the lot next door to them and cleared it out to put cars on it. Even more space and exposure right on "Confusion Corner" so that's really good. Stop by and buy a new car today!! Or a quad or a snowmobile...

Christie Road

Well, most people do not know that we bought a building lot. It was kind of a surprise to us too! But if you know my husband you know what a crazy guy he is! Luckily the lot is on our street which is why we bought it although it was never for sale! That's what you get for knocking on your neighbors door and asking them if they want to sell! At first she said no but a week later came over to say yes she would sell to us-oh oh! It was not something we planned but the more we thought about building our dream house the more we were excited so we bought it. It is 2 acres on our street and a stone's throw from our house. Still not on the river but on the other side of the street from us now. It's all nicely treed and leaves all sorts of room for imagination. Of course Chris and I have different opinions so luckily we have quite a few years before we build so it gives us time to think! It should be interesting. In the meantime we are keeping busy with runny noses and endless bedtime routines. Actually I should say me-Chris is busy trying to get things outside organized before winter here and at our rental properties. Looking forward to seeing family this weekend for thanksgiving and doing something fun with the kids on Monday. There is a new Imax playing that Carson will love about African wildlife! Oh my gosh is he an animal lover. It's hilarious. I've been reading him these little encyclopedia books about animals and he's just soaking up the info like a sponge and spouting it off to his preschool teacher. He's thrilled to go there now because she bought some new animals for him to play with. Whatever works! Here's some pics of the lot and of the kids in our backyard last weekend when it was still nice out.