Christmas: Captured in film

Licking the whip cream beaters

fun with nana Margo

Healy'ing on Christmas day in the Canadian Tire parking lot

Quinner running very fast.

Wadya mean my dress is sticking up in the back??

Hayley as a donkey at her Sunday School concert.

Drinking tea with her mittens on - Christmas Eve at Liz's house.

The note that Hayley left for Santa.

Learning to knit a "scrug"- we told her later that it was a "shrug"

Roller skating inside Carole and Eric's house on Boxing Day.

What are you still doing?

Antique Mommy asked her readers to comment on what they are still doing. Here are my answers.

Still amazed: at how I was blessed to be the mom to Hayley and Quinn, all the while secretly knowing that I have no clue what I am doing half the time.

Still getting used to: sharing Hayley with her dad on the weekends

Still loving: my body

Still proud of: leaving home when I was 17 to be a Rotary Exchange student to Australia - leaving behind my classmates that I had grown up with to graduate without me!

Still not proud of: past relationships left in need of repair.

Still hoping: forgive, embrace and move forward

Still worried: outliving my children

Still never going to: going on a "discover yourself" safari. All inclusive for me baby!

Still pretending: to not be in love with someone

Still reading: ever single night

Still wanting to read: the Secret

Still interested in: owning a house someday

Still not interested in: keeping up with the Jones' (not you Tanya - you are my cousin and I would keep up with you anyday!!)

Still looking forward to: a summer holiday in my mom's backyard

Still not looking forward to: having Quinn tested for Celiac

Still failing: run three times a week without fail

Still grateful for:my health, each and every day I get to tuck my kiddies in

Still praying: that Hayley and Quinn are always the best of friends.

Still not believing in: the quick fix

Still believing in: mankind

Christmas

My mom made me this beautiful wall hanging in celebration of Christmas. Here is what is quilted on it:

The Miracle of Christmas is Hope

The Spirit of Christmas is Peace

The Heart of Christmas is Love

The Warmth of Christmas is Friendship

While I do not want to downplay my true beliefs of why we celebrate Christmas, I also know that we should incorporate all other aspects into your holiday celebrations.

All the best to all my friends throughout the Season.

He is the Reason.

We lost a good man today

Gilles with his mom, Annette and father, Gaby - Summer 2007

Not a great photo, but Gilles with me, Roger and Chantal - Summer 2007

Gilles Beaulieu
March 14, 1951 - December 22, 2007

Always in our thoughts, never far from our hearts.

The very strange Christmas concert

Hayley had her annual school concert last night, and it was a strange one. Here are some diddies that were sung:
**Deck the Halls with Recycled Paper
**I'm dreaming of a green Christmas
**The Christmas Hop (complete with poodle skirts and jive music)

An appearance was made by "David Suzuki" (aka kiddie) to encourage us to "go green" and save the environment. There were candles lit for all the celebrations: Ramadan, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Hanukkah, and prayers were sent up for thanksgiving to the Salish tribe for the land on which the school was on. It covered all basis.

On the bright side, I am honing in on my video skills and here is Hayley (once again) in her singing and dancing debut. If nothing else,, she and the Kindergarten class dressed as trees singing "with a HO and a HE and HO HO HE" made me laugh.

Merry Christmas, however you celebrate it.

PS- the tilting was Quinners grabbing my camera. I think that it add character.

I CARE a LOT bear.

Has to hold the sign so we know what she is.

Hayley and her dad, Earl.

Hayley had her first ever skate carnival today, and I, brave as I am, decided to video tape it off my camera. Without reading any instruction manual. Without really focusing on what i was doing. With about 5 seconds to spare before I had to go back and put skate guards on the other care bears. For those of you that don't know, she is the one in the gray track suit, with "Christmas tree bear" so carefully made on the front. Also, the one with the tail glued on upside down. One of the older skaters ever so "nicely" pointed that out.

So basically, readers, you get to see her skate round and round in a circle, practicing her "I am the Queen wave" and looking damn cute.

Author note - I made that costume. Add glue gun to my list of wants. Along with a new vacuum cleaner. Not dollar store variety. I am just pleased that no one tripped on the sequins that fell off during the making of this video.

The curse of the household appliance

Ever get the feeling that your vacumn sucks? But not in the right way, not in sucking up dirt and debris, but just sucking in general?? It is maddening, as I lug it out, plug it in, turn it on, and proceed to push it back and forth - in hopes of it gathering up all the crap that has collected on my rugs. All the while my youngest princess is running and screaming like a banshee - for she thinks that it is cause for a party.

Then after I put the said appliance away - I walk on my rug and spot fluff, bits and scraps, a polly pocket shoe or two, and popcorn kernels. Obviously it needs refreshing on it's job description. When you vacumn, you are to collect the dirt. Not move it to a new spot on the rug.

Here in lies the dilemma. It is close to Christmas, and in no way, shape or form, am I getting a new appliance for Christmas. Hell will freeze over and I will ice skate pairs with Satan before I get up on the 25th and see a Dyson sitting there under the tree. Why not just accompany that with a new broom and a garden hose? Ya, what every girls dreams of. Not.

So with all the added work that the vacumn will have now that we have our Christmas tree up and it is shedding needles like a angora bunny - let's see how long the beast lasts.

We do have hardwood floors in the majority of our downstairs, I could always invest in a hokey - you know the broom-like thing you see in the restaurant industry. How cool of a mom would I be to ask my oldest daughter to "sweep" the carpet?

Your hands

Quinn, when you were a baby, your hands would curl around mine, and engulf me in so much love I thought my heart would burst wide open. Your hands have been very busy. They reach out for a cuddle, they wrap around my neck and squeeze - transferring your love to my body. No matter how weary, how tired, how exhausting they day may have been, your hands around my neck make it all worth while.

Your hands have painted, drawn, sculpted play dough, decorated my sidewalk with chalk, held bubble blowers and made bubbles dance in the air. They have been dirty, clean, burned, scratched, donned band aids, nail polish and sharpie pen drawings. They hold you up and keep me grounded. They cuddle stuffies and curl into your body when sleep overtakes you at night.

Your hands are practicing for adulthood. Then they have the arduous task of signing cheques, writing grocery lists, typing documents, driving your car and carrying the weight of the world. They will caress babies, wipe away tears, and cuddle with someone else. They will push me away, slam doors and text message everyone other than me. They will hold someone else's hand and make them feel special.

Stay little, my Quinners. Hold my hand and make me feel safe. Let me use my hands to wipe tears and wrap you into my arms. You are special, and wherever you go, whatever you do, remember that my hands will always be here to hold you.

Love, Mommy

Snow and the case of mistaken identity

So the Island received snow yesterday. And in true Island fashion it comes floating down in great huge flakes, blanketing everything in clean white strokes of winter wonder. It gave the children about a half an hour of pure bliss of running in it, gathering it up (along with leaves, cigarette butts and rocks) to make snowballs, cheering madly that we have snow for Christmas. Let's be real everyone, we did not even have snow for lunchtime. It melted before we even persuaded Quinn to wear her winter boots. And not her tutu.

Let's be clear on one thing. Snow in Northern BC = beauty. Long lasting whiteness. Five, sometimes six, months of whiteness. Snow on the Island = rain before long. Short lived fun. Long lived slush. Drivers with socks and sandals. Cars with the top down and the heat on. Five, maybe six minutes of whiteness. Not fun in my books.

But, alas. Old Mother Hubbard also visited us throughout the week and our cupboards were bare. We had no fruit. No veggies. No cream for coffee. Cereal, no milk. Time to part with cash and eat. So we venture out in the white slush and go to the grocery store. Only to remember that my van is involved in a move this weekend and the car that is in my driveway is very tiny. As in smartie size. As in, my kids and my purse are inside and I feel claustrophobic. That tiny. But we have to eat, so off we go. Quinn squished in her car seat with a snowsuit on. Roger beside me. Me breathing into a paper bag as I feel the world closing in on me. $200 later we are like a side show at the circus attempting to find room for all of this lovely food. We drive home with Quinn having the dubious honor of riding shotgun with the eggs and bread. Unload the groceries and I say to Roger, "hmmm, seemed like a lot in the car, why does the fridge seem like $200 more would nicely fit?"

Conclusion made. I am a driver of a minivan. Sadly as that sounds I am. I like the room, the space between me and the kids. I like that we have three row seating. That no one kicks the back of my seat. I like that 4 litres of milk does not make the van "full". So if you happen to see me driving a little black smartie around town, cutting people off and driving too fast - that was my alter ego. Not the real Michelle.

Plus all Celiacs know. Smarties are not gluten-free anyhow.