Sleepover!

Sweetie had been asking about a sleepover a lot in the last month. When could she go on one? When could she have one? What did she have to do to get one???? What if she was really good? When? When? When??? We remained non committal and didn't promise anything. She decided she'd just do her best to be all round "good" and see where it landed her. She started being more helpful around the house and doing things without being asked. She stopped arguing with her sisters as much (nobody's perfect right?). She compromised when the three of them were in disagreement and looked for ways to settle disputes even if it meant giving up a window seat to keep the peace. She went out of her way to be more agreeable and patient. On the crazy hockey tournament weekend where she got dragged from place to place for most of her weekend, she never once moaned, groaned or complained! We decided THAT in itself deserved a reward and told her she could have a friend over. She was overjoyed and thrilled to invite Boo over to stay with her.

They played iPod games, worked on loom bracelets, watched a movie, stayed up late and then played some more the next day. Her sisters got to enjoy as much of it as she did which wasn't really fair since there had been tonnes of bickering and fighting between them and NO efforts on their part to curb it. Boo just wanted to play with everyone of course and was having fun doing what everybody was doing. Sweetie felt like her sleepover had been hijacked a bit and was disappointed that she didn't have Boo to play with alone. I decided she should have some one on one time with her guest and sent the two out to play and then do their chores while Sweetie and Boo played some Wii and did some other stuff on their own until lunch and Sweetie felt better.

"Next time I have a sleepover, can we do it while they have hockey?!???!?!??!"

Family Skate

Uncle Andrew had a great idea for the holidays this year! While we were in town, he rented a rink for an hour and the whole family went skating! The ice time was a little early (7am) and we had to get up even earlier to get ready and drive there & have time to lace up etc. We were all a little groggy and slow to leave our warm beds but once we got there it was SO MUCH FUN! There was so much space and everyone could do what they wanted. Some played a bit of hockey, took shots on net, some of us just did laps around and some just came to watch. Andrew invited his wife's family too and his brother in law's niece and nephew. It was a great group and even though it was an early start, everyone was happy to be there and enjoyed the time together.

I got lots of laps in and skated around talking to the kids and watched them zoom around. I also learned that taking pictures of people as you glide by tends to result in a lot of blur! Oops!

We were off the ice by 8 and all headed to a nearby restaurant for breakfast. We'd all worked up quite an appetite and enjoyed our meal!

Thank you Uncle Andrew, this was one of our favourite holiday moments this year!

Poppin' Good Time!

After all our Christmas travels were over, we had an evening at home to try out our new popcorn maker! It was exciting to fire it up and have movie style popcorn! We put on a movie and munched away to our heart's content!

I'm not sure what they do at the theatre but I haven't found the secret ingredients to get the same flavour of oil or kernels or something. So far it just tastes the same as popping it on the stove but it's way more fun this way! I'll have to find a friend who works there that can fill me in on the technique! Otherwise I've invested in an expensive space hogging, hard to clean pot! Oh well, it looks cool and is fun to use so it's earning its keep for now!

On the road again- Christmas III

Whoever said "Christmas comes but once a year" obviously never had any family out of town! Christmas is a series of events for us so we get to keep celebrating over and over and enjoy each portion without it being overwhelming on any one day. It's a pretty sweet deal! On Boxing Day we loaded up the van, lost the cat, found the cat, forgot the casserole for supper, went back for the casserole and finally hit the highway to go see Murray's family.

More family time, more gift opening, more playing, more laughing! Good times and guess what we had to eat that night? Oh YEAH! TURKEY DINNER!!!!!!!!!! Have I mentioned how much I love mashed potatoes lately? Alright, moving on then!

The girls were all excited to see Bo and they ran all over the house playing with him and making a racket. We enjoyed the visit and one evening the 6 adult children all went out to a comedy club as our gift to each other. I didn't think the acts were as good as the ones we saw the previous year but an outing with free babysitting and the company of other adults is always enjoyable!

While we were in town I got in a visit with a couple of my bank friends, Alisa & Maryann and we got all caught up on life events and Maryann updated my purse inventory once I told her the old ones were starting to fall apart. Good thing I have her to look after me, or I'd be running around with shedding bags til who knows when! haha!

On the drive down the check engine light came on in the van again which was frustrating since we just had all that work done. I wasn't sure if we should be driving it, if we should get it checked out before heading back or if it should wait until we got home and take it back to the place that had done all the engine work in case it was related like last time. I phoned them and they were fairly non committal, "it should be ok but I really can't say" "it might not be related". Finally I pinned her down with "Ok, well, if you were me, and you were traveling in winter with 3 little kids, a cat and a dog in a vehicle that had recently left you stranded on the side of the highway, would you get it checked out before attempting a 4 hour drive home?" She decided that in that case maybe it wouldn't be wise to leave it til we got home. So we were able to get a local Honda place to check the code for us. Of course it was something unrelated and not serious so we threw another $86 into the Honda fund! We also made it home without incident so I guess it wasn't a total waste.

Christmas II

After the morning of events at our house, we had our Belgian waffle lunch (mmmm, strawberries, chocolate sauce and whipped cream toppings!) and then got ready for our next Christmas at my parents' place!

After eating, I made the kids all go in separate rooms with the blinds drawn and lay down to rest. That early start could have meant disaster later! They were sure they didn't need one but somehow decided to humour me. They all fell asleep and I let them stay in bed til I finished cleaning the kitchen so they had a good half hour or so.

We arrived wearing our Christmas headgear which my brother always loves to see! "are they wearing those stupid hats AGAIN?!?!??!" haha! Making Uncle Dale proud at least 10 years in a row now I think! What's not to like about a super cool hat like this?!??!? Once we'd gotten through being spoiled with gifts there, we were treated to a yummy turkey dinner! I loooooooooooooove turkey dinner!!!!!!!!! and mashed potatoes annnnnnnd gravy annnnnnnnd ok you get the idea. But it was soooooooooo gooooooood!!! and dessert..... ahhhhh! delicious!

We were pretty tired out by the end of the day but we definitely had a great Christmas (except maybe that business about the banana which we'll just block out for now...)

Banana Christmas

The kids were determined to get an early start on Christmas this year. As they went to bed, they repeatedly asked "how EARLY can we get up!?!?!" Knowing that they have never woken before 7am on Christmas in their lives and that most years we've had to wake THEM up, Murray felt safe telling them they couldn't wake us up before 5. I wasn't quite as confident on them sleeping in but was quite sure we wouldn't be seeing them at 5!

I shouldn't have doubted them! I woke up to use the facilities between 2 & 3am and found Lovey & Sweetie playing on their iPods in the living room. I told them to get back to bed! They were surprised that it wasn't as close to morning as they'd thought. They figured it would be light out pretty soon. I fell back asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow until......

brrrrrrrrttttttttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!! brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrttttttttttttttt! Ahhhhh the 5am whistle start for Christmas. A lovely new tradition that I will ensure never repeats itself by hiding this whistle next December!!!!!!!

As is our custom, everyone ran down to grab their stocking and check it out. Santa had also left each of them a box of junky cereal that they love but only get twice a year (Christmas & birthday). They raced back upstairs with their stash of Lucky Charms, Cookie Crisp and Cocoa Puffs (actually they're called Nestlé Quik or something now but I'm too old to change haha!) and belted down  a bowl each and moved on to the fruit round, where things came to a screeching/grinding halt. Sweetie & Honey chose grapes, they can be washed quickly and they don't hate them so they're quickly consumed.

Lovey chose an alternate and unfortunate path. The banana. She is ridiculously fussy about the state of ripeness of her bananas in the first place. They can't be eaten on the day they're bought. She won't even look at one if it came home from the store that day. They can't have ANY green on them whatsoever. They must be very yellow but not squishy at all. They must have brown spots on them, buuuuuuuut not toooooooooo many and again, the banana must retain some firmness to be an acceptable candidate into the Lovey Breakfast Program. (all of which is enough to push me over the edge on a regular day!)

She managed to find one that met all her criteria. The problem is that at 9½ years of age, the girl still doesn't know how to sit in a chair at the table. While sitting side saddle and goofing around, she managed to drop her banana on the floor. No big deal, it being Christmas and all, I actually swept and mopped in the not too distant past. Five second rule and we're good to..... not so fast.

*insert wailing indignation here*
Lovey: "I can't eat this banana."
Me: are you kidding me? get that into you!
Lovey: No!!!!!!!!!! I won't. I can't. I'm not eating it!
Murray: you're not going to open any presents until you eat that
Lovey: I caaaaaaaaaaaaaan't! Nooooooooooooo!
Me: (after peeking at the offending item, seeing NOTHING wrong with it) just rinse it off then if you're worried about it.
Lovey: eww! then it'll be all gross and slimey!
Me: well if there's anything on it, just scrape it off and move on.
Lovey: (real tears flowing) I cannnnnnnnnnnnnnn't eat THAT!!!!!!!
Me: your call. We're going to go downstairs once I've cleared the dishes.
Lovey: (screaming and crying now) NOOOOOOOOOO! I'm not eating it. Give me something else!!!!
Me: (the not so patient one who has dealt with way too many of her tirades and demands and manipulations lately and who was woken up at 5am with a whistle blast!) No, we're not wasting that banana because you're being unreasonable. (I take the banana and rinse it, figuring she's probably got at least another 20 minutes of fight left in her which should be sufficient time for the banana to air dry if I pat it with a paper towel first, might as well get this show on the road)
Lovey: (five alarm freak out mode) NOOOOOOOOO! WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?!?!? IT'S RUINED. I'm NOT eating that banana! Ewwwww! Yuck! IT'S GROSS. I won't eat it, I cannnnnnnnnnnnnn't!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Parents exit stage left and head downstairs...



We told Honey & Sweetie to start opening their gifts over the wailing protests coming from upstairs. After a couple of presents I go up and tell her she can bring her banana downstairs and join us while we open gifts only if she is quiet. She then comes downstairs. Somehow while she's sitting on the couch, she manages to drop the banana a couple more times and again starts with the "I can't...". We ignore her and Sweetie and Honey are through most of their gifts now and are waiting on her to open the gifts for all 3 of them. Finally, she decides she wants in on this Christmas deal after all and the banana is gone in less than a minute. The battle of wills is over and Christmas is on. Once she began, it was like nothing had ever happened. Her gears change fast!




Yes, bananas are just about the cheapest fruit. Yes, it was Christmas Day. Yes, there was other fruit in the house. Yes, we did hold her presents hostage. Admittedly, it was rather awful having such a wild scene on Christmas morning. However, it wasn't really the fruit that was the problem, it's the attitude that has been an issue too many times lately and we weren't willing to overlook any more of it. The stubbornness is out of control! And besides, we'll have the Banana Christmas to remember long after th e popcorn maker is broken and they've outgrown those rainbow looms!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Christmas Eve was a little hectic, lots of last minute things to prep and outfits to get ready and all that jazz. Lovey practiced her violin song, got her 5 with no trouble and we were set to eat dinner with Grammie & Grandad and go to church. Easy peasy right?

Somehow, we got behind and in a rush to get the van out of the garage and watch for Honey in the driveway at the same time, Murray got the driver's side mirror a little too close to the garage doorway and the whole thing ripped off the door! Plan B, clear off the other vehicles, we're going to need to go in 2 separate cars and there's no time to spare! Always an adventure at our house, no matter the occasion!

Getting everyone rounded up into the cars is a feat that would make a lion tamer cringe! But we did it and got there with a few minutes to spare but no extra practice time for Lovey. No matter, she did a beautiful job on Holly Jolly Christmas and everyone loved it. The service was wonderful and I love looking around and seeing all the seats filled and the sanctuary all dark except for the glow from the candles in everyone's hand. Silent Night is by far one of the most beautiful things to behold and it makes me all teary eyed every year!

After we got home and Grammie & Grandad were on their way, it was pj and story time! As usual Murray read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. As usual, they all started giggling when they heard "threw up" in the story (and he threw up the sash). It cracks them up every year and they gag and make their barf faces as they picture someone throwing up a sash, which then leads into the question 'what IS a sash anyway" and we digress until Murray gets the train back on the tracks. For the big finale, he read the story of Jesus' birth in the bible and then it was time to tuck them in! Whew!

Once they were safely asleep, I filled the stockings and prepared the batter for the waffles so I wouldn't have to do it Christmas morning and finally it was time get on our kerchief and cap and settle down for a long winter's nap! (ha! see next installment to see how that went!)

trying on my glasses for fun. It probably won't be long til they have their own unless they win the random genetics lottery and get Uncle Andrew or Grandad's perfect vision!

NOT Play Christmas Eve?!?!?

Lovey is big on performing and loves being on the stage and entertaining the masses. It's the practicing that she doesn't much care for! When the minister phoned last week to ask if Sweetie would play again on Christmas Eve, I told her it was actually Lovey that played violin and that she hadn't prepared anything and wouldn't be able to do it this year. It was only a few days away and we weren't interested in fighting with her to get ready! Yesterday, two days before Christmas Eve, she and her sisters were discussing what her piece would be for the candlelight service. Bracing myself for the impending meltdown, I let her know we'd already told the minister she didn't have anything ready and wouldn't be playing. Cue the drama....

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?!?!?!?" she exclaimed.

Murray backed me up and asked what she'd thought she could possibly play when she hadn't practiced anything at all!?!?? She indignantly marched over and got out her stand, the violin and rummaged around frantically for the book of Christmas violin music. She confidently began to play her first choice. It bombed. She could only get the first couple lines before running into trouble. No problem, 2nd selection annnnnd pfffffffffft. No dice. She youtubed it, tried a couple different versions but couldn't get it to work. We left her to her own devices and she sorted herself out and finally found a piece she could get through without too much trouble. Holly Jolly Christmas was her final selection and she asked how we'd rate it on a scale of 1-10. I gave her a 3. Murray was about the same. "THREE!?!?!??!" she squealed.

"I'm not even asking the church unless you can make it a 10!" I told her.

She played it again and wanted to know how I'd rate the most recent effort. I asked if she was sure it was ready to present for a final mark or if she thought she should work some more. She stomped back to the living room, stopping to ask for ratings after every run through. It still had some errors and Murray told her we wouldn't consider letting her do it unless she could play it without a single mistake or hesitation five times in a row. "arrrghhhhh!" was her reply on her way out of the kitchen.

She must have spent almost an hour on that one song. She would get one perfect, then a second good run through and... glitch! Back to the start. 1, 2, 3, oops! Her desire to play was so strong that she didn't once complain about working on it over and over. She would groan when she had 4 good ones and then slip up in the 5th and have to start over but it was impressive  to see  her determination. Come hell or high water she was getting herself ready to play Christmas Eve! Finally she got 5 in a row and I had to ask the minister if she could be squeezed into the service after all. We didn't tell her we'd already asked and told her she'd have to give us 5 good practices in a row every day, including Christmas Eve day! She seems ok with it so far!

Violin Concert

The end of year concert for the students of Lovey's violin teachers was on a stormy night, I kept waiting for a cancellation email all day! Apparently this is like Broadway or something because they seem to have some "the show MUST go on" mentality! We made it without incident, enjoyed the show and headed home before the weather got any worse! Lovey did a solo piece and was in a trio with some older students as well.

Practicing continues to be a little sketchy. Of her $25 investment for band, she has earned back $2.50 after several weeks...

As you can see, Sweetie was engrossed in the performances!

O Christmas Tree!

Getting a tree was a little tricky this year! Every weekend had something going on. During the week there were the usual practices, games, dance lessons, violin lessons, plus extra violin rehearsals for the upcoming concert, Sunday school play rehearsals and I don't even know what else!  We finally just ran down the street on a Tuesday night and picked out a tree and then got it in the stand. I got all the lights on the next morning while they were at school and we decorated after they got home. Grammie & Grandad came down to get in on the fun and snacks (retirement has its privileges!) Right after we finished with the ornaments and snacks, Lovey had to zip off to one last rehearsal before the concert tomorrow!

Dedicated party goers!

 Here's our shy one!

 New tradition, pull ups in between  hanging ornaments...

 Decorating (and growing bones) is hard work! Luckily the cast will be gone very soon!!!

Christmas Prep

As usual, getting ready for Christmas was busy but one weekend was even more insane than usual for the kids' activities!

Friday am school Christmas concert

Friday afternoon hockey game

Saturday morning hockey game

eat lunch at mall-no time to go home in between

Saturday afternoon school choir performance

Saturday afternoon dance show

Sunday morning hockey game

By Sunday night we were toast but we survived!

In between games, practices, rehearsals, lessons and shows, we baked cookies, made candy and party mix again this year for the teachers' Christmas gifts.

Nanny & Grampy came for the crazy weekend, which worked out to be a like a buffet of everything they had ever wanted to see the kids do! they got their fill of games, singing, dancing, violin etc I think the only thing that wasn't going on was gymnastics but they caught some of that at their last visit so we're all good!

Tabby's Send Off

I joined the nearby gym when the kids started preschool. They were 4 and it was time to get rid of more of that baby weight!

So I went. With NO clue what do there, how to use the machines or anything. So I floated around and just randomly did stuff. Unless I got bored, then I stopped and moved on to another machine I didn't really know how to operate. Sometimes I just stuck to the treadmills because those had auto settings and didn't require anything complicated. I didn't know anyone there and everyone else seemed to know what they were doing and had a plan and everything. I just tried to pretend I wasn't a gym moron and kept my head down and hoped no one noticed I was faking it. Bad exercise is better than no exercise right?

I'd try one machine, do a few reps but if anyone was nearby I'd move on before my facade was busted! Eventually I decided to check out one of the group exercise classes in the evenings. Circuit class sounded interesting so I came at the appointed time and walked into the exercise studio. Imagine my utter horror and panic when I stepped into a room with all guys and a guy instructor. The place was full of mirrors with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. If I turned and ran out, everyone was going to notice. As I frantically considered my options, everyone said hello and welcome etc etc etc. Then I was trapped. I was still trying to figure out how to escape and freaking out as to how hard a class it was going to be if only guys attended, when Tabby walked in. Thank you God for sending me a girl!!! Wait. She's built like the GI Joe of fitness, but I'll take her! I don't remember talking to her that day but I was incredibly glad she was there. I think there might have been another female or two but Tabby's the one that made the biggest impression.

Over time we ended up in more and more classes together and would get on the treadmills together, hop on the rowing machines together to "go fishing". The circuit class instructor called us "Team TK" and would hang out between our 2 treadmills and chat with us sometimes and keep us entertained.

Tabby has a young daughter and a son who's just a bit older than my girls so we always had lots of mom stuff & life stuff to talk about. She brought me her daughter's outgrown clothes and gave me lots of healthy eating tips. I kept her entertained with my goofy commentaries and brought her extra dessert (she does not bake, crazy!!!!!) She also knew that gym like the back of her hand and made sure I worked out properly.

Eventually she got her personal training designation and got certified to teach fitness classes too. I was her first guinea pig when she had to practice. I think I failed all the fitness tests except the stretching one! Letting your friend measure your fat with calipers in front of a male witness/examiner is true love let me tell ya!

Although I missed having her all to myself to joke around with during class, I loved her classes and she could always get more effort out of me than anyone else. She knew me too well to let me get away with any slacking and would call me out immediately! Mine was the first name that anyone new to class would learn. "C'mon Kelly, you're NOT done!" I would get her back with my own comments and she could only shake her head and laugh at my antics.

Then she decided to start up a spin class and asked if I'd come try it out. I couldn't refuse her so I went. I didn't much care for it but there were only 2 of us so I couldn't NOT go or she'd have almost nobody and they might cancel the class on her if attendance was low. So I went. and went and went. It didn't feel very productive, I didn't think I was getting much exercise just sitting on a bike and pedaling. Then one day I walked by a mirror and noticed how red in the face I was. By George, it actually was work! Instant convert. I never missed spin again if I could help it. The class grew and grew to the point that you had to phone in and reserve your bike or there weren't any available by class time.

Then she started teaching Pilates and Yoga. Pilates I loved. Yoga I didn't. Another instructor saw me after my first (and last) Yoga class and asked me "how did you like Yoga?" I admitted I hadn't enjoyed it. She smiled knowingly and said she didn't think all that "staying still and being quiet" would work out well for me. Ha ha! I stuck with the other stuff but let Yoga go on without me, she had lots of people for that one and wasn't in danger of getting dropped.

Last summer she started an outdoor running/circuit class. Ever seen me run? Ever see a cow in a hurry??? about the same, just add spandex. I was THE worst runner in the group. Tabby would run double, going back and forth to keep track of the group ahead and then checking to make sure I hadn't quit and gone home! By the end of the summer I could run all the stretches in between the stations. I saved her from geese attacks and we all bolted back to the building once when we came across bear tracks in the wet mud that HADN'T been there on our way out! So many outdoor adventures and so many funny moments and so much fun.

I loved every class she taught and would go 3 times a day if I got to work out with her. (Why am I not a size 10 already you ask right??? remember that baking thing? yep. I'd go home and undo all her hard work but she loved me anyway!)

Recently the gym was bought and new owners came in and after checking out the changes in the lay of the land, Tabby decided to give notice and explore fitness career options elsewhere. While I'm heartbroken that my gym girlfriend is moving on, I'm rooting for her as she'll be an awesome addition wherever she goes. Plus we can still hike and bike and ski between classes. She can't totally give me up, I have all those good treats she likes!

After a few nights of waking up in the wee hours all sad and weepy, I decided we needed to pay tribute to all her efforts to get the best out of us in each and every class. She had so many key phrases that would motivate us and keep us pushing through even the hardest of her classes. We were a consistent, friendly and fun loving bunch who liked to work hard and have a good time doing it. Other regulars to the gym would use the treadmill during spin class and tune in to the channel that Tabby used for her mike and follow the crazy discussions and comments and she'd catch them laughing along with us at all the funny parts. That's how much fun we had with her.

So I got my Martha Stewart on and fired up the inkjet printer to decorate each bike with its own Tabbyism. Then I created this lovely sash and made her wear it. I thought I'd finished it when Honey saw it and said "aren't you going to put any GLITTER on it?!?!??" I quicky raided their craft drawer and corrected the oversight. I also tied a happy face helium balloon to her seat and strung streamers all over her bike. Tabby isn't much into the girly girl stuff so making a pink glittery beauty pageantlike sash was perfect. She shook her head and said "well I'm glad it's a fitness related title at least!" and kept it on the whole class. The other gym patrons walked by and smiled at all our crazy decor. We managed to keep lively and upbeat until the very end during the stretches and then the tears started. Not everyone could make it for class and one of the regulars had just had her baby a few days before and Tabby commented during class that "if only Kari could have made it!" Little did she know I'd messaged Kari and shared the bad news of Tabby's leaving and asked for help remember the Tabbyisms and let her know we were taking Tabby out for a drink after class. Just as we were finishing up, Kari & her husband walked in with the new baby and surprised her. It was perfect!

We wiped tears and pulled ourselves together for a group photo (only for this girl would I be caught dead in a picture in workout gear!)

Love you Tabby and thank you for keeping me in line (as best you could! no one has ever done a better job!) and always listening, encouraging and making the gym a fun place to be!

Vehicular Challenges!

While we were still waiting to find out about the van, we got another warning light on Subaruba. I was driving the girls to school when this ABS warning popped up. The brakes seemed fine and the mechanics always say that if it's yellow it's just a "check it out" warning and not a "STOP THE CAR IMMEDIATELY!" warning.

I phoned to check on it and the guy that answered said "oh no you only have the one vehicle now don't you?" Our situation must be awfully bad when the mechanics are pitying you! He told me I was fine to drive and that the brakes still work even without the ABS feature. Good enough for me! I don't want any other bad vehicle news!!! The next time I started the car it wasn't on and hasn't been seen since. Good riddance I say!