December 28th, 2013

I wish I had taken better photos, with my real camera, but our friend Andi drove up from Cambridge to visit.  She brought dinner and dessert, played board games with us and numerous hockey games with the kids, and even did our dishes!!!!!!!!!!  So great to see her again and have a chance to catch up with what's going on in her life - hopefully we'll be able to meet up for a ski before she heads back home:-)

December 27th, 2013

So so beautiful out there, ice-encased branches glittering in the sun:-)  Thank goodness we don't really have to drive anywhere, and we have a nice warm fire inside!

December 26th, 2013

We are thoroughly enjoying this winter wonderland that we are living in these days - though I have to admit, it's a pain in the buttocks (thighs!) when we have to do simple chores like take our compost out - breaking a trail and digging out the compost bins, such a workout for such a simple task!

December 25th, 2013

 Merry Christmas everyone!  We had a wonderful day, full of thoughtful gifts, whimsical stockings, excited kids, ski trips down the road, mid-day bubble baths and of course fabulous foods!  Santa left the family a massage table, so we're anticipating a new year of relaxation this upcoming year - and the kids have been playing hockey non-stop on the new table-top hockey set from my dad!!!!!  Hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful day today!  xo

December 24th, 2013

There's been lots of crafting going on around here.  I'm realizing that two of my favourite things about the whole Christmas season are enjoying delicious food together, and creating fun gifts for each other.  So fun to see everyone working together, brainstorming on fun gifts and squirrelling away to create surprises for each other.  So fun......though as always, I wish I had so much more time to do everything I want to before tomorrow morning!!!!

And on that note, I'm going off-line for the rest of the day:-)  Hope you're all having a most wonderful time these days xo

December 23rd, 2013

When we went out to get our tree, Ry found this little tree he REALLY wanted to bring home for their dolls.  It's been so fun watching them set it up in their room and decorating it for their dolls:-)  I've been busy sewing up little stockings for the dolls, and creating little goodies to put inside - I think the kids will be sooooooooooooo surprised Christmas morning to find little gifts for their dolls under their tree:-)  

December 22nd, 2013

 It's hard to get decent photos in the pitch black, but we did manage to bundle everyone up to do a small little labrynth walk on Sat. night.  We were hoping to do this with friends the night before, but the intimacy of just us was nice too.  The snow was so deep, I had to wade through it to create the labrynth, and then we lit tealights and set them in the snow - so beautiful!!!!!  Looking forward to the return of the sun:-)

December 21st, 2013

Happy Winter Solstice!

We had many plans to celebrate the longest night of the year, and return of the sun.  Candle dipping and sun bread baking with friends, followed by snow play.  Driving in to the city on Sat. to share food with Sean and Chloe followed by carol singing - an annual tradition we all look forward to.  Unfortunately Kea was sick with a fever and cough and NO energy for a few days so instead we lay low.  

Dragged the kids out to get our tree today, Ry had a great time, the girls ended up in tears and exhaustion and went home early.  Good times:-)

December 20th, 2013

Sick Kea today:-(  Kind of inevitable after her younger siblings had a round AND this past week has been kind of crazy busy for her with lots of late nights and lots of white sugar.  So we cancel plans and lay low for the day - great for all of us to take a deep breath, do a little catching up and maybe watch a holiday movie together:-)

December 19th, 2013

Still finding time in the chaos of Christmas time to go to yoga class, and treat myself to an amazing lunch afterwards - sitting by the window, watching the snow fall on heritage buildings and finishing up a few last holiday cards.

December 18th, 2013

Baking cookies for our gingerbread house - every gingerbread house has a few R2D2's, no?!!!!

December 17th, 2013

Jamie's become a pro-needle felter and toy maker:-)  Lucky kids.......

December 16, 2013

Oh, imagine that - one more photo of Fred!  Unfortunately this is the last one, as this is right before he left:-(  BUT in the little hat I knit him, and sporting the snotty nose that I'm sure my kids gave him - such a sweetheart:-)  Hopefully it's not too long before we see this little gaffer again.......

December 15, 2013

Even Jamie got a chance to spend some time with Fred - he's a charmer, that one!  And this photo shows a CLASSIC pose of his, he'd become enamoured with something (fan, light, wheel) and point at it and usually growl at it!  Such a character:-)

AND he's a crawler - usually in his own style of half butt dragging, half crawling but still VERY mobile.  Kept us on our toes and made us realize just how quickly we get out of the mode of baby-proofed houses:-)

December 14th, 2013

We took Fred and Kera to a local playgroup - he was pretty serious the whole time we were there, taking it all in!

And hardly surprisingly, I seem to have passed on my obsession with babies - all three of the kids were fighting over a chance to hold Fred!  And although they managed to get a few in here and there, I'm bigger and stronger and able to win out most fights:-)  xo

December 13th, 2013

Sweet Fred (and Kera - but really, once you have a baby it's ALL about the baby, isn't it???!!!) came to visit us for a few days - what a perfect holiday gift!!!!!!  xo

And this is the point that I put my camera down, because really - who can't resist a plea like that?!!!  I snagged as many cuddles as I possibly could:-) 

December 12th, 2013

A favourite cake in this household, ESPECIALLY served with some freshly made pear sauce.  YUM! You can find the recipe here at Anja and my food blog:-)

December 11th, 2013

Jamie and Ry did a run to our local dump (we have to drop off our own garbage and recycling living out here) and were super excited to find this moose antler there!  Crazy dump find:-)

December 10th, 2013

We're crafting like crazy around here, playing the role of little elves.........so fun to have the kids able to do so much of it on their own:-)

December 9, 2013

Ooops.  I guess the point of having an advent calendar of sorts is to do something every day:-)  I've fallen a wee bit behind - but today is a day of catching up.  Catching up on tidying the house, on sleep and soup making and laundry - and of course, on blogging.  Time seems to have been slipping away from me, and with my last package sent off and all my holiday cards written and posted, I'm taking a deep breath and settling in to enjoy the holidays now that the kids are off school!!!!

The kids were so thrilled to get all dressed up to go see the Nutcracker at the NAC.  Ry in particular is very enamoured with this little guy - one of these days I'll have to get an actual nutcracker and some nuts in their shell, as he's obsessed with the idea of cracking nuts with it!!!!  

December 8, 2013

On Sunday the girls had friends over, and we decided to head up to the Middleville Community Christmas party - very fun to go on an old sleigh ride:-)

Since Middleville is only 2 km from our house, I made them walk up - there was lots of grumbling, but they made it:-)  And I agreed to call Jamie to pick them up at the end of it all!

We did go inside for crafts, games and a visit from Santa, but can't get those photos off my camera so we'll have to wait until I sort that little issue out before posting more:-)  Fun times.....