The Christmas Season: All the fixings.

In November, during the calm before the Christmas storm, I always make my lists - cards, meals, baking and presents.  By the time December rolls around, just when I'm feeling completely in control, I realize that I've forgotten all the little things that also have to be scheduled in.  Like....

Peter works in Washington.

Juliana in the Santa Claus parade:

Peter works in Dallas.

The return of the penguins at the Town Christmas Tree Lighting:

Sheldon's public skating every Wednesday night.

Sheldon gets a nasty cold.

Jennifer gets the flu.

Juliana's dance classes have an Open House.

Peter gets Sheldon's nasty cold.

Jennifer gets Peter's nasty cold.

Juliana dresses up like a doll for her School Holiday Concert:

Juliana and I do some baking:

Peter works in Cleveland.

The school has an assembly to sing Christmas songs on the last day of school.  Peter joins the parent/teacher band that plays.  (His Mom and Dad are in town so they find themselves in another school watching their son play the drums.  When they last saw him do that, some 25 years ago, I'm betting they thought that would be the last time!)

Juliana goes Christmas carolling with a local group.

Juliana gets Jennifer's nasty cold.

Plus, between the four of us, we also saw two bands play, two local Christmas productions, had a few Christmas lunches with friends, dental check-ups and haircuts.

Phew.

I think that I speak for all of us when I say how much we are looking forward to a long winter's nap come January...

The Christmas Season: What I learned while getting our tree.

The thing that usually puts me in the spirit of Christmas is picking out our Christmas tree.

It might have been Sheldon's first year that we decided to ditch the artificial and go real.  When we lived in the City we would go to an overpriced lot to pick out our tree and then have it delivered.  Once we moved here, we found a tree farm where we could go out and choose our own tree which Peter would then cut down.

A few years ago, when Peter wasn't able to come with us, I took the kids to the farm and we chose a pre-cut one from them.  It was so easy that we continued that tradition.

This year we decided to go back to cutting down our own tree.  How traditional.  How romantic.  How, sometimes, ridiculous.

This is what I learned.

I learned that all trees look smaller in the forest than they do in your home.

I learned that when you think that you've found the perfect tree, but decide to look for a few more minutes, you should mark the perfect one with a glove or something because you'll never find it when you go back.

I learned that, no matter the age, children are always going to find something to whine/argue about while trying to choose.

I learned that the wagon ride is fun, no matter what your age.

I learned that hot chocolate and marshmallows at a tree farm always tastes the best.

I learned that even though you may only need one for a job, it's nicer when you have help.

I learned that the tree does, truly, make it feel like Christmas.

Overheard.

Juliana has been volunteering in one of the JK classes in her school.  She spends lunch and afternoon recess with them -  playing, cleaning up, helping to get their outdoor clothes on, and running them inside for bathroom breaks.  

She comes home with some great stories about the little ones - especially her new young friend named Julianna.  She also loves to tell me how gross they are when they eat.  In fact, she can't eat some foods anymore because the JK's table manners have turned her right off. 

Last night I was upstairs when she was having a bedtime snack with Sheldon - hot vanilla milk, I think - and I called down to remind them to clean up after themselves.

Then I hear Juliana (who is the queen of leaving her dirty, not-quite-empty glass on the counter) say "oh that's great Sheldon.  I have to rinse the cups of four-year old's every day and now I'm rinsing my 14-year old brother's."

I wish she knew how funny she was.

The Other Side.

Last week, we went to the Festival of Lights in town for the Christmas tree lighting and Santa's visit.  We've gone a few times over the years, all bundled up, ready for some apple cider, cookies, and carol singing.

This year, Juliana's youth service group was invited to participate in the evening's festivities while wearing the penguin costumes that they wore on their Santa Claus parade float a couple of weeks ago.

I made Sheldon come with me so that I'd have someone to stand with.  Yes, that's right, I made him come.  I didn't ask him because I knew he'd say no.  Plus, he really should come and see his sister dance like a penguin.  That's something that every brother should do. :)   The fact is, though, that I ended up wheeling and dealing.  Hot chocolate + I'd drive him to public skating after the fireworks.  He was sold.

And so while I was watching his sister dancing, and I was calling, with the crowd, for Santa, Sheldon was texting his friends.  Completely disinterested.

As the fireworks were set off and Sheldon was still texting, I realized that I was now, officially, on the other side of parenthood.

The side where you stand and enjoy the sounds of all the little voices around you because your own kids think that they are too big for the magic.

And I wondered, where has the time gone?

(December 2004)

Mrs. S___.

Don't get me wrong.  If my kids are happy at school?  That's fantastic.  If they love their teacher?  Perfect.  But I think we may be getting carried away here.

Rewind to last month.

The grade 6 portion of Juliana's class left on a two-night field trip.  Juliana and the rest of the grade 5's were left at school.  The afternoon that they left Juliana called me at work to tell me she was sad.  She called me later, when I was in the middle of a meeting, to tell me that she was really sad and she needed to talk to me about it.  When I got home, 30 minutes later, she was in a full blown meltdown.  

About what, you ask? 

She missed Mrs. S___, her teacher.

I gave her a cuddle and she calmed down.  Ever so slightly.  When I could finally break free from her oh-so-sad grip, I texted Peter, who had been in Pittsburgh since the beginning of the week.

"Holy crap.  Your daughter." was all I wrote.

His response:  "She called me crying because she misses Mrs. S___.  I didn't remind her that I've been gone for three days."

It was an hour later when her tears were finally starting to dry up, and while catching her breath, she said to me:

"Mrs. S___'s daughters are really, really lucky."

"Why?", I ask.

"Because they have her as a mom."

Then just the other morning, Juliana woke up as I was leaving for work, and she told me she had a bad dream.  When I asked her if she wanted to talk to me about it, she said it was scary.  

"I dreamt that Mrs. S___ quit her job."

Mrs. S___.  Dream teacher.  In so many ways.

Who's the dirty rascal?

I'm the King of the castle?

A day off.

At the beginning of the month, I had the opportunity to take Sheldon and his friend into the City for 'Take Your Grade 9 to Work Day'.  Instead of sitting beside me at my desk all day, they had a chance to tour the Courthouse, including the jail, watch a drug trial, meet a Judge, Crown Attorney, and Court Clerk, visit the Legislature, and hear about some career opportunities in our Ministry.  

Would it surprise you that the first thing they told me was about how ridiculously big the boardroom table was that they ate lunch at?  

What struck me though, as our train arrived downtown and we walked up to the Courthouse, was how much these two boys were in awe at the size of the buildings and the sheer number of people, cars, and bikes on the streets.  I decided then that I needed to bring my small-town kids downtown more often.

Fast forward to last week when both the kids had PA days at their schools.  I thought it would be a great chance for an adventure to the City.

We drove downtown, parked the car, took some time to check out the Christmas windows at Holt Renfrew, and then hopped on the subway to ride for a couple of stops to the Mall.  There we saw gigantic reindeer covered in little white lights, and a huge lit Christmas tree.

After stops at Indigo and the Apple Store (where I wasn't sure I'd be able to get the kids off the iPads before the store closed) we hopped on the subway back to have some dinner (at McDonalds - kids choice for quick and fun!?!)

We met up with Peter and spent the evening at the museum where, first, we enjoyed the Ancient Egypt exhibit, especially the mummy.  Juliana has been studying Egypt in her social studies class at school so she was able to tell us about some of the things that we were seeing.  We also braved the Bat Cave, experienced historical bling in the form of gems, minerals and a meteorite specimen, and checked out the new exhibit of drawings on iPads and iPhones.  

All in all it was a great day.  But as we walked back to the car, Sheldon said to me: "I'm glad we're going home now.  There are just too many people here."  

You can take the boy from the small town, but you can't take the small town from the boy.

Usually he just jumps through hoops...

I thought about it after I wrote my last post.

I didn't include Peter or my Mom in the photos and I really should have.  Unfortunately, Mom was a little camera shy and so I didn't capture her impressive talents on film.

But, Peter?  Here he is in all his glory:

(Sorry, ladies.  This talented guy is taken.)

Best. Birthday. Party. Ever.

"Hooping is magic...you just have to believe..."

That's what Jessie told the girls as they spun hoops 'round and 'round at Juliana's birthday party.

We discovered Jessie's talents back in the spring when we saw her perform in a local production.  She mesmerized both Juliana and I with her skills and Juliana pretty much decided then that she had to have Jessie teach her.  Lucky for us, I've got a bit of an 'in' since I know Jessie's mom so that's how the idea for her party was born.

Jessie arrived with an arm full of hoops, including a special one for the birthday girl to keep.  She danced for our group and we watched, a little in awe, while her hoops were spun, twirled, and tossed to the music.

And then she taught the girls.

First they learned the secrets to spinning the hoop around their waists.  Then they learned how to spin the hoop in one direction and their bodies in the other.

They spun the hoops around their arms and then passed the hoop to a partner - sometimes while tossing it in the air!

They jumped, they cartwheeled and, before I knew it, they were incorporating their own dance moves into what they had just learned.

I think that I spent the entire time with a big goofy smile on my face just watching them move - the confidence, the giggles, the run-away hoops, and the shocked laughs that came when a tricky move worked out for them.

Jessie inspired them to try things that they thought that they wouldn't be able to do.  She taught them that in order to succeed, they had to first make mistakes.  And she taught them to believe.  To believe in the hoops and to believe in themselves.

And before long, they were making magic.

Sheldon, who spent most of the afternoon using his scooter as a tracking dolly to videotape the fun, didn't forget to get in on the action.

After she left, Jessie let us hang on to the hoops so that the girls could play around with them again after the presents and craft.  We closed out the party with a little more hooping, some cake pops and a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday".  

And so I've been driving around for the last two weeks with a van full of sparkly hula hoops.  I've felt like my van was full of good, happy karma.

Today we returned the hoops and all that's left in the back of my van are some grocery bins and a sleeping bag.

But Juliana has been using her hoop out on the front lawn insisting that she is going to keep practicing so that she can become as good at hooping as Jessie is.  She's already figured out that all she needs to do is to play the music and move with her hoop.

It seems as if some of that sparkly, happy karma will be sticking around after all.

Birthday surprises.

On Friday my baby turned ten.

She had a party with her friends on Sunday, she had cupcakes and presents flowing all weekend.

But the best birthday surprise came on Friday night when Leah arrived for a surprise sleepover.

Leah and Juliana were born into a friendship.  They lived across the street from one another and Leah's mom and I were friends so they spent their first 9 years shuffling between our homes.  In March, our dear friends moved one hour away and although the distance isn't far it isn't always easy to get together.  So imagine Juliana's surprise when I brought Leah home with me on Friday night.  Time just melted away as soon as they saw each other.  And I spent the rest of the night listening to the chatting, the giggling, the whispering, and the laughing.

A very special birthday, indeed.

All things Hallowe'en.

First, let me start with the cupcakes.

They were easy.  And there were 15 for the class.  (Even though Juliana told me afterwards that she didn't eat one.  She had one from the cupcake lady's son.  Of course she did.)

It was a quieter Hallowe'en this year with Sheldon not dressing up.  But he still inspired us with his mad skills at pumpkin carving.

Then the bats and mice came out, the orange lights went up, and we were ready for the trick or treaters.

For months Juliana said that she was going dress up as the girl on the side of the Borax box.  Seriously.  Once she realized that even though she looks like the girl on the side of the box most people probably wouldn't recognize her costume so she decided on being a cowgirl.  Two weeks ago she changed her mind again to a fashionista detective complete with a blinged-out magnifying glass and trench coat.  Finally, days before Halloween she decided on being a zombie princess.  Her costume and make-up did not disappoint.  She recycled an old princess skirt, ripped up some clothes, put coloured extensions in her hair, donned a tiara and the requisite zombie make-up.   

Oh, and the loot.  They don't trick or treat for no reason.....

Hallowe'en success.