'Tis the Season

Despite my best intentions, I don't seem to be able to get here to write as often as I would like to.
I naively thought that I'd have all kinds of free time once both kids were in school. Turns out I'm still busy.

I've been trying to take care of the majority of the household chores during week so that we have free time to spend as a family on the weekends. In addition to that I've been doing a good bit of volunteering --an outdoor education class for preschoolers on Mondays, the school kitchen on Tuesday mornings, reading with first graders at the school on Wednesday mornings, a first grade class in a school in the next district over on Thursdays but nothing on Fridays. I'm also the Class Parent in the kids' class as well as the "Class Parent Coordinator" for the school.

Most of the volunteering has ended for the year and I have a little bit more free time thiscoming week. I'm sure it will still go quickly. The kids holidays don't start until the 24th, and they're off school until the 9th. Jen will take the week between Christmas and New Years. It will be nice to have a good stretch of time all together.

We'll be spending Christmas Eve at my moms, as we always do. Christmas Day we'll drive down to PA to spend time with Jen's family. Aside from cupcakes day-of, which is sort of a tradition now, we've decided to defer the kids' birthday celebrations until the new year. There won't be a big party this year, but we'll have some family over to help celebrate with cake. A princess cake for the four year old and a Storm Trooper cake for the six year old.

I don't think it will ever cease to blow my mind each time the kids celebrate a birthday. Four years ago today was actually Sprout's due date. I was huge and totally uncomfortable and feeling SO impatient.

Next weekend: cupcakes and Christmas. This weekend: early holiday celebrations, snow, and hopefully a few slow moments to sit back and soak it all in.

Thanksgiving

Today was Thanksgiving here in Canada. A holiday I enjoy, marking a season I enjoy even more. And this weekend was an absolutely perfect fall weekend. Sunny, crisp, leaves just starting to show their colours.

We spent Friday at the Zoo with one of the kids' new classmates and her Mama. They're also a two-mom  household. Their little girl and Sprout have become quite good friends in the past month, and I really enjoy chatting with L, who does most of the school pick ups and drop offs. I was a little worried The Bean would feel left out, not having his own friend there, but it was a non-issue; all three kids got along wonderfully. L and I laughed, because at the end of the day we really could have just taken them to a park. They spent more time climbing on rocks, playing with sticks, and jumping in leaf piles than they did looking at animals, but they were happy, which really was the main goal of spending the day out together.

 

 

Saturday started off a bit rainy and grey, but it cleared up by lunchtime and we were able to go to the apple farm, which is something we'd put off from last weekend when it was much to rainy to even consider going. We took a tractor ride out to the orchard and filled up a bag with apples, then headed back so the kids could play on the massive bales of hay. 

Our neighbours had us over for dinner that night. They are a lovely family with two girls, fairly close in age to our two kiddos. Our kids were overtired and bit more wild than I would have liked, but it was still a nice visit. I had an interesting conversation with the father, who is also an identical twin, but quite different from his brother. It feels good to know that there are other twins who aren't BFFs. (I haven't posted much about it here, but my sister and I have not been on speaking terms for nearly a year. I'm mostly okay with this as I am no longer willing to tolerate the was she was treating me or my family, but it can be hard to knowing that I'm/we're not meeting people's expectations in terms of what a twin relationship should look like.)

Sunday we had our usual running around --me tutoring in the morning followed by the kids' gymnastics lessons mid-day-- followed by getting ready for hosting Thanksgiving. It was our first time hosting a holiday. We got off pretty easy, as the only guest was my mom, but still, I was concerned about everything coming together. Jen managed the kids while I holed up in the kitchen. Everything turned out pretty much perfectly! The food was delicious and everything was on the table even before the time we're usually sitting down for dinner. I prepared turkey, stuffing, roasted potatoes and carrots, mashed sweet potato, and green beans, along with cranberry sauce and gravy. Oh, and pumpkin muffins for dessert! Yum! I'm looking forward to eating the leftovers this week.

Today was another gorgeous day. Just the four of us went to one of my favourite places in the city --The Brickworks. We did a walk through the quarry, along the railroad tracks, and then back to the Children's Garden for the kids to play. We could have stayed longer, I'm sure, but tomorrow we will have to get back to the regular routine, so it seemed best not to push it.

There are more substantial things that I'd like to write about, but it's getting late. Fluffy surface level will have to do for now. Happy Thanksgiving, friends.

Solstice

I'm not sure about everyone else, but the days certainly do feel short around here. Time is flying by. I can hardly believe it's December, let alone nearly Christmas. Nor can I believe that our little Bug is going to be THREE years old in three days. (Or that The Bean will be FIVE in just three weeks!) Where the time goes, I am really not sure.

The weather has been unseasonably warm. We've had only a dusting of snow. It's not what we're used to and certainly doesn't feel very Christmas-y. The kids are excited nonetheless. We've had our tree, stockings, and other seasonal decorations up since just after American Thanksgiving. There are a few gifts under the tree, taunting the children. The Bean legitimately fell onto one of his gifts and tore the paper open, though the reason he was close enough to fall onto the said gift is a little spotty. I made an effort to cut back on Christmas gifts for the kids this year. There is really very little that the need, and even their wish lists were fairly short because, really, they have most things they could want too. Being an one-income household and the crappy Canadian dollar also impacted things. That said, they will both get what they've asked for from Santa -A remote control car for The Bean (he also asked for a remote control airplane, but that is NOT happening) and a cradle for Sprout's babies (my sister mentioned a while ago that she was going to give her one, but we have since had a falling out, so I'm not sure if she will follow through. There is a back up, just in case, but if she does receive it from her Aunt she'll be getting a jewelry box from Santa, which she didn't ask for, but will be thrilled about).

We celebrated with my cousins' family on Sunday. Sprout and my one cousin's son have become quite close. They're only six months apart in age and did a few programs together this fall. Sprout often says she is going to marry him (as she says about all the people she loves most). While we don't condone incest, they are very cute together. And, as I know I've mentioned before, both our kids absolutely adore my other cousin. All that to say they enjoyed the get together. We stayed longer than we should have, and even though they were both in need of a nap, they stuck it out. We even got a cute photo of the exhausted and over-stimulated kids by the tree.

Aside from that we have been downtown to see the windows, visited Santa and had their photos taken, opened Advent calendars, been visited by St. Nicholas, done a little bit of Christmas baking (that has all been eaten) and made Christmas crafts. I don't think there's much more we've got planned in terms of Christmas activities. Mama and Mommy just have to wrap a few more gifts and get us packed up for our travels.

 

We're all looking forward to the holiday and to the return of longer days... even if they do sill fly by.

Holiday Craft Exchange

One of my favourite things in blogland at this time of year is the Holiday Craft Exchage.

I started participating several years ago, when it was hosted by S at An Offering of Love.  Then R at Insert Metaphor took over.  This year I volunteered to do the organizing.  ALL are welcome to join in... old and new, super crafty and not.  Here are the rules:

1. Enter the swap by emailing us through the "Contact Us" link on this page.  You must include:

• your full mailing address
• your blog name
• the names of the people in your family and the ages of the children
• which winter holidays you celebrate

Please sign up by the evening of Wednesday, November 26th, 2014.

2.  I will do a random drawing to match givers/recipients.  I will email you the name and contact information of your recipient by next weekend.  The exchange of names is secret, so you won’t know who drew your name until you receive a package in the mail.

3.  If you are unfamiliar with the blogger whose name you receive, spend some time on their blog and make a new friend!

4.   Create a homemade holiday craft and mail it to your recipient by Wednesday, December 17th, 2014.  Hopefully a week is enough time for it to arrive in time for Christmas or the last day of Hanukkah or maybe even Winter Soltice as long as Canada Post and USPS are bringing their A game. 

5.  Share a picture on your blog of the craft you received and tell us who made it.

Other info:

* Feel free to create any holiday-ish craft you want.  Aside from postage, there’s no need to spend much, if any, money on this.  I would like to open this up internationally, but if you have issues shipping outside your country or North America, please let me know and I will try to accommodate you.

* To participate, you should have an active blog so that we can all feel comfortable swapping addresses.  The only people who will see your name and address are me and your designated recipient.  I will not reveal your information in any other way.

*Feel free to post a link to this exchange on your blog and encourage folks to sign up.

* Please sign up only if you can follow through.  Speaking from experience, it's quite disappointing to never receive your craft. 

Father's Day

Today is Father's Day.

Overall it's a non-event in our two-mom household, but I have found myself thinking about fathers and other father-types the past few days.  

Yesterday afternoon Jen put on some music and we were dancing around the living room with the kids.  Paul Simon's You Can Call Me Al came on.  I'm sure this was intentional on Jen's part.  She knows the memories this song holds for me.  I'm six years old and standing on my dad's feet, curls tickling my back as I look up at his face.  Giggling as we both sing "I can call you Betty/ And Betty when you call me/ You can call me Al/ You can call me Al."  His name is Allan, aka "Al", and though no one ever calls me Al, I still like the joke of him being called Betty.  The Bean and Sprout don't yet know the words, but they giggle as I spin them around the living room, singing loudly and off key.  

Earlier this week Jen's dad reassured me that though things are difficult right now I will never regret  having this time with the kids.  He poured me a whiskey and put on a TV show I could laugh at.  

These men, they're good men.  Our fathers and father-in-laws.  Grandpas and Poppies.  We are lucky to have them.

And though he's not a father to us or our children, I've found myself thinking about our donor.  His reasons for doing what he did.  The gift that he's given us in these children that he will likely never know.  I wish I could thank him.  

While our kids will never have a father to give homemade cards that look like dress shirts with a tie to, there is certainly no shortage of good men in their lives.  Men to show our appreciation to on this day.  One day they might feel like they're missing something other kids have, but I hope it won't be long after that that they'll be able to recognize what they have that other kids might not:  Great grandfathers.  Generous strangers.  And a lot of other people who love them very, very much.  

Holidays

Nearly a week into the new year, I feel like it's time post about the holidays before they are a distant memory...

The whole holiday season seemed to go by super-quickly.  I've heard the same thing echoed by lots of other people.  Even though we aren't in the U.S. I think it had to do with American Thanksgiving falling so late this year.  I'm sure having Sprout's birthday festivities going on earlier in December also made a difference.

Christmas Eve we drove out to my mom's.  She and her boyfriend hosted a very nice turkey dinner followed by gift-opening.  My mom is German and growing up, we always opened all of our gifts on Christmas Eve, so that doesn't feel strange to me.  Just like I imagine celebrating two Christmases won't feel strange to our kids.  The kids were quite spoiled.  The two boys both had a great time playing with (/competing for`) new toys, while my brother supervised (/kept the peace).  We left later than we had intended to and were exhausted by the time we got home, but it was worthwhile.

We had intended to leave early Christmas morning to head to PA, but we all slept in and then took our time getting ready.  The kids opened their stockings and watched videos and Jen and I got the car packed up.  Traffic was a little heavier than it would have been had we left first thing, but it still wasn't bad and I think we felt better having had extra cups of tea and knowing that nothing had been left behind because we were rushing.

Jen's parents were at her aunt's house for dinner so when we got it we just got the kids fed and ready for bed.  After her parents got home we chatted by the fire and opened adult presents, so that Boxing Day morning would be all about the kids --their Christmas morning.

Needless to say they were ridiculously spoiled.  Like last year, The Bean took time to play with each new toy he unwrapped.  He had gotten down to his last few boxes and I asked him if he wanted to open another gift and he said, "Nope.  I'm good."  We're going to have to remember to ask Santa to cut back next year! ;)

A few days later we had a joint birthday party for the kids.  The Bean got the chocolate robot cake he had been asking for and Sprout got my family's traditional hot milk cake.  All the great grandparents came, along with a good smattering of aunts, uncles and some good family friends.  It was a very nice celebration.  I'd like to think The Bean's favourite part was his robot cake; Sprout's was DEFINITELY the balloon Grandma and Grandpa got her.  She didn't let go of it for three days!  (She even held it while nursing one day!)

While all the celebrations were lovely, the thing I enjoyed most about the holidays was spending time as a family.  We kept busy, but we didn't have a hectic schedule that we were working with.  We got to hang out with each other.  Play.  Chat.  Eat.  Relax.  It was really nice.  A good way to end the year.

So This is the New Year, and I Don't Feel Any Different

After a long drive yesterday, we spent today getting settled back in at home.  We unpacked and found places to put things away, while playing with both new toys and old.  Jen made soup from the few things we had in the refrigerator and pantry.  Both kids napped in the afternoon.

It was nice way to ease into the new year.

I have no idea what to expect from this year.  2010 was full of anxious anticipation and hope.  2011 was exhausting and amazing as we welcomed The Bean into our family.  2012 was hard, but brought us Sprout, who has filled our hearts beyond belief.  2013 we have grown into our lives as a family of four, with all the growing pains that includes, but also the overwhelming peace and joy of being a family.  Of being complete.

I feel guarded in my hopes for 2014.  I know it will have its ups and downs.  I also know that in another year we will all have grown and learned and changed in ways I may have never anticipated.

I hope for the best and wish all of you the best too.

Happy New Year.

Wordless Wednesday: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

{this moment} decorating

A Friday ritual. A single photo  - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

 If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Inspired by SouleMama.

Thanksgiving

Forgive me, I am still playing catch-up here.  It seems like I've had to skip over blogging about things that I've had it in my mind to blog about a good bit lately, never mind not having put back all the photos that got deleted... anyway, I really want to blog about American Thanksgiving and our trip to PA, so here it goes...

Last Wednesday, after spending the morning getting the car all packed up while The Bean watched a DVD and Sprout chomped on a tambourine (her current favourite teething toy) we got on the road to visit Jen's family for Thanksgiving.  We were all really looking forward to the trip.  The Bean had been asking about it for a good month.  And since I was too pregnant to travel last year, Jen and I were looking forward to celebrating with her family after a little hiatus.

Wednesday, for those who aren't from the area, was the day of the big storms.  Except for a little stretch that is notoriously bad a few hours out from Jen's parents', we missed the worst of it.  Thanks to NO wait at the border, it didn't take us much longer to get there than it does in the summer.  That's pretty good for the busiest travel day of the year.

There were seventeen of us around the table on Thursday.  That's something I really love about the American Thanksgiving: people get together to celebrate it.  Maybe it's just that my family is really small, but we only ever have immediate family at our Canadian Thanksgiving celebrations.  Anyway, having so many people around was nice.

The Bean was over the moon because Jen's cousin's family was there, including his three girls (ages 9, 15 and 17) so he was doted on even more than he would have been otherwise.  Sprout got a good bit of attention too. ;)  It was nice for us, because we haven't see her cousin or his wife since before The Bean was born.  At one point I was talk to Jen's cousins' wife about how different our two kiddos are and speculating about whether The Bean was more like her and Sprout was more like me, and she stopped me and said, "Just look at my three girls.  The couldn't be more different. (Which is true!)  Kids are just different."  I can't fully explain why, but I really appreciated that comment.  It felt she was giving recognition to The Bean and Sprout as being fully and completely siblings, which is how I want them to be seen.  Anyway, it made me happy.

Aside from spending time with the extended family, we also managed to squeeze in a Mama/son nature walk in the "woods" out behind the house, another visit to Santa along with a train ride at the local mall, an awesome Christmas parade, and perhaps even started a new family tradition of watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer the night before we left.

My other favourite part of the weekend was when we were all doing our own things in the house and suddenly The Bean called out, "Look!  Deer!"  and there they were, six deer walking through the backyard.  It was pretty amazing.  And I love that The Bean noticed it all on his own.

Maybe they'll come visit again at Christmastime.

Oh So Quiet

We had snowfall overnight.  With Sprout napping and the Christmas tree all lit up, it feels so quiet.  A second cup of tea is in order, but I hate to get up of the couch to make one.  Plus, I'm sure the little one will be up soon, and I best take advantage of this time to write, if I'm going to write...

It has been a while.

...And with that she woke up.  She is back asleep now.  A little nursing and a little rocking did the trick.  Usually she doesn't go back down in the morning, so this may be a shorter-than-intended updated, but we'll see what I can manage.

And it gave me a chance to get that second cup of tea.

Anyway, I didn't intend on being away from this space for so long.  First The Bean got sick.  We were back and forth to the doctor and up at nights with coughing and stuffy noses.  He recovered just as the others three of us started coming down with the same thing.  We're closing out week two now and hoping that it's over soon.  We're all tired of feeling this way.

In the mean time I fell off the photo challenge wagon.  I haven't been great about taking photos lately at all... I thought the challenge would inspire me a bit, but I guess it was just too, well, challenging.  I think I just need to get back into the habit of keeping the camera close by and taking it with us when we go out.  This is a pretty time of year and The Bean and Sprout are changing so quickly, so hopefully that is inspiration enough.

This past weekend we celebrated Sprout's first birthday.  How we are almost at a year with this little girl, I just don't understand.  It seems like just yesterday we were bringing home our "darling, darling".  Though in many ways it also feels like she has always been here.

And The Bean.  He will excitedly remind you that his birthday is coming next.  He makes us laugh, this little guy.  Everyday he has been reminding us to turn the Christmas lights on and undecorates and redecorates the tree.  Recently he been sitting on his nest, taking care of his eggs (egg shakers that St. Nicholas left).  He talks about friends at preschool and other friends which we are pretty sure he has made up.  He asks us to read him book after book.  He stomps around in his loud boots and roars in his dino pajamas.

We celebrated (American) Thanksgiving in PA.  I believe there were 17 of us around the table.  The kids were doted on by older cousins, aunts and uncles, and of course their grandparents and great grandparents.  Both kids were really good for the long car ride.  Sprout cut her top two incisors while we were there.  We're looking forward to going back at Christmastime.

I'm still job hunting.  My name is on a few sub lists, though I have yet to get a call.  I should probably get on a few more.  I also need to apply to the boards.  This is when the hiring for next fall begins.  It's totally overwhelming and so hard not to feel discouraged.  If I don't find a teaching position I need to figure out what I'm going to do.

Christmas season is upon us.  Most of the gifts have been bought and wrapped.  I'm hoping to get a little bit of holiday baking in.  My best friend requested ginger cookies, and making those for her is the least I can do...

It's taken me into the second nap time to finish this up and there are a lot of around the house chores to get done.  I will try to updated again sooner.