Better late than never.

One weekend, probably a month before Christmas, I asked my family to do something for me.

I wanted one hour, free of complaints and whining, at our old train station to take some family portraits.  I don't think we've had a photo of the four of us together since the spring.  Oddly enough, they all agreed.  

The day that we scheduled our small window of time together turned out to be ridiculously foggy so we didn't go.  Then, as the story always goes, we got busy.  As silly as it sounds, there never seemed to be a time when we were home, happy, showered, AND with good weather, all at the same time.

Which is why, on the day we picked out our tree, when we ran into a friend, we had her take a photo so that we could at least send out Christmas cards.

So here, better late than never, I am sharing our family's wishes for a beautiful Christmas for everyone.  

xo

A tree grew in the forest.

The day we were supposed to go get our tree, it rained.  We kept our fingers crossed that it would turn to snow but we had no luck.  So, the next day, with the rain gone, we headed to the tree farm.  It always takes longer than you think it will and our children, no matter their ages, will always find a reason to argue about something :)  

But we did it.  We found our tree - just tall enough and just wide enough to make it the perfect tree for us.

12 on 12.

December  :  Wednesday

01.  While getting ready for work this morning, I was tempted to ditch the nice pants and keep my warm, fuzzy pyjamas on...
02.  Guess who cleared out the garage for me?  Starting the car without having to scrape the windshield saves me precious minutes in my morning - precious minutes that I would rather use for sleep. :)
03.  I'm completely loving this new find and have been listening to it non-stop for the last week or so.
04.  Today was a day for lotsa' coffee...
05.  I was at an office Christmas lunch today and there were little treat bags on the table.  I broke into mine on the train ride home.
06.  Peter was home today so this was the scene when I walked through the door.
07.  It's Wednesday - dance night.  Which means eggs and toast for dinner.  But since Daddy was cooking - it was upscale eggs and toast.
08.  Out to the car for her Jazz Class.
09.  It's Open House night at the dance school so Grandma joined Peter and I to watch.
10.  Juliana takes dance at the Music Hall in town.  It's a gorgeous old building and they recently improved the front entrance.  While not truly my photo, Peter snapped this of me enjoying 12 on 12.
11.  The Music Hall's chandelier.
12.  We stopped on the way home to get a few snaps of our downtown - it is so pretty with all the white lights and decorations for Christmas. Plus, I've been dying to sit in this sleigh!

Well, that's it.  The last 12 on 12 for 2012.  It's been a fun project with some days more challenging than others.  I'm not sure if I will continue it again for 2013 or not.  I feel a little like Peter - I'm not hungry right now so don't ask me if I want to go for dinner next Saturday night because I'll likely say no.  I think I'll wait until January 12th and revisit the idea again then....

Once again: it's a good job he's cute.

Tonight, while Peter was at work, my mom joined the kids and me for dinner.  We had roast chicken with vegetables.  Before dinner, Juliana and I made salted caramel chocolate bark.

Fast forward four hours when Peter walks through the door and says:

"Mmmm.  Somebody's been cooking....it smells like burnt hot dogs in here...."

Seriously?  That's my reputation?

12 on 12

12 on 12.  Posted on 22.  Oh, well.....

November  :  Monday

01.  Had a wee sleep-in this morning since Juliana came home early yesterday morning (from a sleepover) with the flu.  Crossing our fingers for a 24-hour bug.
02.  Look at that.  Sheldon is feeling a little under the weather too.  They sat at the breakfast table trying to decide if they should eat.  They didn't sit long before they each decided to go back to bed.
03.  I'm loving all these unseasonably warm days!
04.  A couple of hours of sleep has made Sheldon feel well enough that he asked (ASKED!) to go back to school for the afternoon.  Outside the school, Peter & I stopped to look at their Remembrance Day tribute to our local war vets.
05.  Peter and I popped in to the Youth Centre to check out their new "Kindness Corner" - a lot of great work gets done in that corner and it's nice to see it so bright and cheerful now.
06.  I left Peter at home while I ran some errands.  Stopped at Tim's for a quick pick-me-up.
07.  I'm in the driveway wondering if the pouring rain will stop so that I can go inside.  (It didn't.)
08.  Laundry.  Fourth load of the day.
09.  After dinner snacks - chocolate covered raspberries, blueberries and pomegranates.  Yum!
10.  My boy, who hates getting his picture taken, hams it up for 12 on 12.
11.  Songza.  My new favourite music playlists.  Tonight it was a little "Sunset Soundtrack" while I cleaned up after dinner.
12.  My poor Juliana.  Feeling better after the flu and yet we end up spending the evening at ER with a bout of asthma.  I knew she was starting to feel better when, at 10:30 pm she started begging me for cheeseburgers.  A better mother would have stopped at the McDonald's drive-thru on the way home.  This mother just wanted to get home and into bed....

How I spend my Friday nights.

Waiting in the drug store parking lot while three teenage boys load up on fuel for their sleepover.

Where have the years gone?

I've just come from having a birthday snuggle with Juliana before bed.

It seems like just yesterday that I could curl up and she would fit, just so, into my curve.  And yet, there we lay tonight, stretched side by side, talking about our family, wondering how to make a list of our top 10 favourite songs of all time, laughing at her Daddy's hijinks, remembering some of the crazy dreams that she has at night, playing the game where one person hums a tune and the other one guesses it, and then, finally I kissed her goodnight and left her to drift off to sleep.

This past year, I have watched my girl blossom in so many ways.  She is more confident, more self-assured and more daring than ever.  Her kindness with others has no limits.  She takes the time to give kudos when they are due, she shows patience and encouragement to her younger "kindergarten friends", she doesn't think twice about volunteering her time to others, and, once in awhile, she hugs her brother without being asked.  All this plus a wicked sense of humour!

Last night Juliana had four friends over to help her celebrate her birthday.  I stood in the kitchen watching them enjoy their pizza by candlelight and I realized that these girls that I have known since they were 4 years old, are just five minutes away from having their own dinner parties.  They are young ladies that are starting to enter their terrifying, complicated, beautiful adolescent lives.

Where have the years gone?

Happy 11th birthday to my beautiful girl.

xoxo

Medusa.

Smurfette.
Broadway Dancer.
Flapper.
Devil.
Ronald McDonald.

These were all the choices leading up to Halloween.

She chose Medusa.  Snakes in her hair Medusa.  If you look at her you'll turn to stone Medusa.

That was Juliana.  Well, except for the last part.

We were down to the wire trying to find the snakes but, in the end, as it usually does, it all came together.

Juliana wasn't going to let anything put a damper on her Halloween.  Not the cold, dark, dreary weather.  Not the drizzly rain that fell over the witching trick or treat hour(s).

And she was not disappointed.

(Neither was her brother who got all the candy that she can't eat now because she has braces!)

Brace yourself.

Last Thursday, 9:15 a.m.

Last Thursday, 10:35 a.m.

Last Thursday, 9:00 p.m.

Juliana's day consisted of a morning trip to the orthodontist, then breakfast with Daddy (which, for Juliana, was a plate of bacon cut up into teeny, tiny pieces), an impromptu return to the orthodontist to get the wire that just completely popped off the side of her mouth snipped, and then school for the afternoon.  After school it was back again to the orthodontist to get said wire fixed properly, home for a really smooth snack, dance class with Amanda, chicken soup for dinner, and a big ole' chaser of Advil.

One week later and we were back at the orthodontist this morning for phase two of Project Braces On.

I just keep telling her that it's all gonna pay off in the long run.  Her already beautiful smile is gonna be a stunner!

A walk in the woods.

Last weekend was one of those great weekends.  Nothing really planned.  And so, things like sleep-ins, long dog walks, afternoon naps, and breakfast out all just happened.

Our family walk in the woods on Saturday was typical in so many ways:  it took ages to get us all out the door, Tucker licked the car window on the drive, Juliana trailed behind us gathering leaves, every time Peter and I tried to hold hands the leashes would tangle, and Sheldon was grumpy because he was being dragged out with us.

As usual though, once we were out, Sheldon became the life of the party - it's hard for him to stay mad when he's given so much space to run and jump - plus, he perfected the art of bugging Juliana by stealing her hat.  But, the best part was how he kept us all entertained by finding a huge stick and trying to drag it all the way home.

And here we are on the cusp of another weekend wishing that we could replicate our last one.  A girl can dream, right?

Date weekend.

We were celebrating our third anniversary.  At least that's what we told our waiter.  We've been married 18 years but we only get around to actually doing something special to celebrate every six years.

This year, with my Mom living so close (lucky us!) she got to stay with the kids (lucky her!) last Saturday night while Peter and I drove a little north to spend 26 hours alone together.

It was dreary weather that turned into nasty rain for all of Saturday afternoon and evening.  Almost every restaurant was booked for dinner.  Juliana texted us non-stop.  And yet, we had the most fun we've had together in ages.

Ask anyone.  I had been feeling exceptionally crabby for the last little while.  Out of sorts for reasons that I just couldn't pinpoint.  But spending time with Peter - laughing, holding hands, drinking coffee, and eating non-stop was just what I needed to pull me out of my funk.

My only regret was Juliana's new iPod touch.  She saved and saved and finally got it on Thursday.  Which means that when we left on Saturday for a little break, she was just getting warmed up.  Text after text after text.  Multiple Requests to FaceTime.  (I didn't even know what that was until Saturday!)  Which means that we had calls that looked like this:

It seemed too short to make a difference, but our date weekend was perfect.

In fact it has inspired us to try to celebrate again before another year is up.  I think we may have to start making up for lost time.

Happy anniversary honey.

xo

12 on 12. (iPhone edition)

October  :  Friday

01.  Fall is definitely here - it was pitch black out this morning when I pulled out of the driveway at 6 a.m.
02.  Usually we have to drag Juliana out of bed at 7:30 but last night Juliana finally got her new iPod touch.  This morning she's up early to start the day texting.
03.  My ten o'clock coffee run with Kim.
04.  There was a fire drill in our office building this morning so we had a chance to sit outside basking in the warm fall sun for a few minutes.
05.  Lunch time found me shopping at one of my favourite downtown bookstores.
06.  Friday night means a Pumpkin Spice Latte for the train ride home!
07.  I stopped at the Tourist Centre around the corner from our house just to take in the gorgeous colours.
08.  Twelve hours after leaving, I drove back in my driveway.
09.  Our busy kitchen - Peter working on dinner and Sheldon making surprise cupcakes for Grandma's birthday tomorrow.
10.  Somebody wants to join me on the couch.  Look at that face.  Even I feel bad that she's not allowed up.
11.  Once more my house is in the dark when I get home from a quick visit with my Mom.
12.  Oh, camera, how I miss you.  Next month will be all about you, baby.

Thanksgiving weekend.

I had a lot to be thankful for this weekend:

* Celebrating my mom's birthday with the whole family on Friday night:

* Celebrating my mom's birthday again Saturday morning with both of my sisters in town:

* My team of assistants to help with Sunday dinner prep:

* Fantastic volleyball matches:

* A big, joyful, chaotic turkey dinner:

* Musical interludes:

* A beautiful day to celebrate 18 years with my soulmate and enjoy a late afternoon walk together:

I am very grateful.

Time flies.

It's October?

That's impossible.

Just yesterday, we turned the calendar to September and sat the kids on the front porch for their first day of school photos.  That morning, I officially started to lose track of the time.  And while I have blog stories swirling around in my head, none of them have made it here.....

For now, let me share what we've been up to.

There's been the Fall Fair (Peter's band's first gig and then a day of rides), drum lessons, Sheldon's houseleague hockey, Juliana's youth service group meetings and their help at the kid's Short Film Festival at the local movie theatre.  School committees have started up and Peter's meetings at the Youth Centre.  We've had doctor's appointments and dentist appointments (in anticipation of braces!), curriculum night at the the school, an afternoon on the Studio Tour, and the Terry Fox run which we did as a family.  Juliana started another year of dance and hip hop, while I finished up another season of soccer.

Oh, and we decided to do a little painting so I've been looking at this view from my kitchen for about two weeks:

Did I mention that I haven't picked up my camera in weeks either?  That's got to change.

October:  the month that screams out for slowing down.  At least for me.