Hayley got many great things for Christmas, but there are two gifts that she got from my sister-in-law that I personally want to play with. One is a gift that is technically for Hayley, but being that it’s a toaster, it’s obviously for all of us to use since we’re not going to put two on the counter – and it’s good timing since our regular toaster sucked enough that I cursed it at least once a week.

One slot puts a Winnie the Pooh face on your toast while the other makes a Tigger. I love Tigger! And I love the little bee on the side instead of a regular lever. Apparently it plays some sort of music since the instructions warn to not break the mechanism by making sure you don’t keep continuously pushing the lever down and then pressing the cancel button to keep the music going non-stop. I set it up on the counter after Hayley went to bed so she can try it out tomorrow. It’s so cute!

And this. Oh, the Easy Bake Oven. I keep telling myself it’s not for me.

When I was little, we occasionally got the Easy Bake mixes and had some of the little mini pans but we just baked them in the oven. I never had the real thing. This one seems a bit different because I seem to remember the old ones actually opening in the front whereas this one looks more like a microwave in design and you slide the pans into the oven from the side. Still, I’m looking forward to making the cake or cookies watching Hayley make the cake or the cookies that came with it.

Also, yesterday we set up the water with the purifier in the little Sea Monkey aquarium and today we added the eggs. I think they’ve hatched because there are little black dots moving around which is apparently what they look like after hatching. Hopefully they’ll grow quickly so we can actually see them. More things that I wanted in my youth, taunting me from the back of every Archie comic book!

Ah, to be a kid again!

Dude, I’m exhausted. Christmas spans several days here and I’m ready to sleep for a week now. It started on the 24th with all the activities we did, plus the pajama presents, continued on the 25th, and only ended last night when we visited my parents.

Christmas morning dawned early, but I was tired not because of the hour, but rather because I’m still seven years old apparently – I kept waking up every hour to see if it was time to get up yet. LOSER. We got started by about 6:30 which isn’t too bad considering how excited Hayley was. She shocked me by falling asleep before 9 pm on the 24th so she was raring to go first thing in the morning. Breanna, on the other hand, is more of a sleep fan and was unimpressed to be woken up before she was ready, even in the face of an impressively huge present like this.

That is my favorite picture of the entire holiday because it cracks me up.

The gifts were all a huge hit. Santa brought each of the a little pop up indoor tent, something Hayley had asked for. Hayley got a Dora Backpack chair from Breanna, and Breanna got a Diego Rescue Pack chair from Hayley – I love them because at the end of the day they fold back up into little packs and can be tucked away!

Our gifts from us were what had me so excited. We got Hayley a digital camera (a Fisher Price camera that can take a beating from kids), which was a shock to her and she loved it, then took 180 pictures in one day. Don’t know where she gets THAT from, ahem. We also got her the V-Smile game system which plugs into the TV and has educational games (we got her a Little Mermaid game to go with it), and a stuffed Orca to replace the one she lost. Breanna got a train table, a stuffed monkey, a little penguin, and a Little People house. They also both got a Moon Sand kit from us to share.

Hayley got us gifts too, surprising us with things she took from her own room. She gave Breanna a notepad, George got a heart shaped jewel, and I got a bracelet. She even wrapped them herself, it was very cute.

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I think I’m almost as excited about Christmas tomorrow as my kids are. Breanna doesn’t fully grasp it yet but she knows who Santa is and she knows what presents are so I know tomorrow she will explode in joy when she sees everything under the tree. As for Hayley, she’s definitely old enough to know exactly what’s going on and she was one giant nerve of excitement all day long.

We tracked Santa on Google Earth which is even cooler than on the NORAD site because it’s in 3D with lots of panning and zooming. Honestly, I could have sat and watched it even longer than I did had I not needed to do other things.

After I put Breanna down for a nap, I headed out to get the stocking stuff and some wrapping paper. I was expecting the worst but it wasn’t bad at all. By the time I walked all the way there, got everything, and walked back, just under an hour had passed, so that was pretty efficient since I was expecting the whole round trip to take much longer than that.

I wrapped some gifts while locked in the bedroom, then I made “magic reindeer food” with the girls at the table. Once we were ready to go outside, I bundled them up in snowsuits and figured we’d sprinkle the food around the front and then play in the snow for awhile to help tire them out (I had woken Hayley up at 7:30 but that’s no guarantee of a quick bedtime even on a regular night, let alone the night Santa’s coming by). We lasted about three minutes because in the short time since I had come home, it had gotten ridiculously windy and we were too cold. Breanna couldn’t even catch her breath, so we quickly spread out the food and then came back upstairs. Had I known, I wouldn’t have bothered with the hassle of snowsuits!

We also baked cookies for Santa, watched several holiday specials, and listened to lots of non-Christmas music (I’ll put some appropriate music on in the morning though). After supper we did bath time and then I put the kids in bathrobes so they could open their traditional Christmas Eve gift of pajamas. Breanna love to open presents so she took the task very seriously and was overjoyed when she saw what she got. She yelled, “OHH! PAJAMAS!” Then she held them up, saw they had a sheep print, and said, “sheep, bee-yoo-tiful!” Hayley was very pleased to see hers were covered in snowmen making snow angels.

Much to my utter shock bedtime was smooth. I read two Christmas stories to them (which was a challenge since I have a very impressive cough and can barely speak), then we set out cookies with chocolate milk for Santa and an apple for the reindeer, brushed teeth, and they both went to bed. Breanna was out within about ten minutes because she didn’t have a very long nap, and Hayley, my girl who can fight sleep like it’s going to hurt her, well she was passed out before 9 pm. I don’t think that’s happened since she was two!

George and I got the rest of the gifts wrapped – we had to wait because some of the bigger boxes were in his parents’ garage – and I prepared the stockings. Now we’re just watching a movie (well, mostly he is, I’m not in a big movie mood tonight) and soon I think we’ll get some sleep ourselves because who knows how early tomorrow morning will start. I do draw the line at any activity before 6 am though! I’m putting the baby gate up in the hall to block any overeager little feet from wandering into the living room before we’re ready.

As for my own excitement, I am positively giddy and can’t wait. I love everything we got for the girls and just about everything from us will be an unexpected surprise. I hope both kids sleep through the night, but I also hope I can get some sleep myself!

Merry Christmas!

Today George and I took the kids to see Santa. The first year for Hayley was when she was only three months old; she sat on his lap, sucking on her fist and gazing ahead. The second year, just over the age of one, I have a picture of myself holding Hayley beside Santa (not even on him) while she screamed. Since then, she’s eager to see him, shy when she actually gets there, and she’s full of reverence for him when she sits there for her picture – it reminds me of when people get star-struck around celebrities.

When Breanna first went, she was a whopping one month old. She slept on the way, slept while I removed her snowsuit, slept while Santa held her, and barely woke up while I re-dressed her, then went BACK to sleep while we shopped. The second year, at just over a year old, I have a picture of her sitting on Santa’s lap, screaming with her arms out to be taken away from the giant man in red.

This year, Breanna has been talking about Santa a lot because of seeing Christmas specials (especially her Caillou Christmas movie) and seemed interested in going to see him. When I told her this morning that we’d go today, she kept saying, “see Santa! Santa! Presents! See Santa, picture. CHEESE!”

Honestly, I expected that once she got there, she’d balk at going up to him. I thought I would have to send Hayley up first and try to encourage Breanna that way. Instead, Hayley hung back, not because she was afraid, but because of that shyness. It was Breanna who pulled her hand out of mine and went walking up the steps and she walked straight up to him, arms held out to be picked up. It was awesome. Hayley joined her, sitting on his other knee, and I ended up with a great picture.

I tried taking more than one picture in an effort to get Breanna to give me a big smile (the place we go to see Santa has no photographer, but what’s great about it is that there’s never a line-up. Also, the Santas always look great and authentic.), but she wouldn’t take her hands out of her mouth, which is what she usually does when she’s a little giddy, so I love that. And I love how she’s leaning her head on his shoulder. I also love Hayley’s smile which is just about to crack into a huge, “holy CRAP it’s Santa!” expression.

After we did the pictures, we did a bit of shopping, ate lunch while listening to a god-awful live band, and came back home. Breanna was so ecstatic about the Santa experience that I printed her up her own copy of the picture so she could carry it around the rest of the day, and Hayley is freaking out with excitement that tomorrow is Christmas eve. I have one more stop to do tomorrow for last minute things (stocking stuffers and more gift wrap) and then I’ll be ready to be excited too!

(Edited to add: Here is a link to the 17-second video clip I took of the music. I was trying to be discreet so you can’t actually see them but you can hear it. Gah.)

One year ago yesterday, two of my “aunts” (cousins, really) took my grandmother out. They left the nursing home and went out for lunch. Then they gave her an early Christmas present. My grandmother’s room in the home had a bed, a little table and chair, a dresser, and a television, but nowhere really comfortable for sitting up to watch television. They gave her a nice glider rocking chair. That evening my mother called her like she did every night, right before bed time, and my grandmother was ecstatic. She was very lucid, she spoke about her day out, and she was sitting in her new chair while watching the hockey game – she never missed a Canadiens game unless she had no choice.

She was so very happy.

One year ago today, the very next day after her wonderful day, my mother called to tell me that my grandmother had died of a sudden heart attack.

I miss her so much and something about having it happen right around Christmas makes it worse. I feel so grateful to have had her in my life for so long – she was 92 years old. She knew Hayley very well and thought there was no one quite like her in the world. Hayley couldn’t wrap her mouth around “great-grandmother” when she was learning to talk so she called my grandmother by her first name, Aggie. We still refer to her as Aggie here. She also got to meet Breanna a few times and loved her.

Hayley took the death so hard that I sat up one night, neglecting other duties to sew an “Aggie doll”. Hayley had asked for one and I could not think of any store that would sell something that would work so I made it myself, my first real sewing project. As time went on, the pain eased, but sometimes I still go in to turn off her reading light after she falls asleep to find that she’s holding the Aggie doll tight in her arms.

Maybe I need an Aggie doll for myself.

Sept. 2006 at her 92nd birthday party in the nursing home, the last time I saw her.

Care to peek at a few more pictures?

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I meant to post this sooner but it took me forever to dump my recent pictures for some reason. The day after the snow day, I took my camera with me when I took Hayley to school. The buses were all late and no one else was waiting around the school yard yet, probably due to the fact that although some streets had been cleared, side streets were still a disaster and no one had bothered much with driveways or sidewalks. We stood in the empty schoolyard which was just about the only thing that had actually been partially cleared yet. But they left enough huge piles of snow to make any kid ecstatic.

Can you imagine being a young kid and walking into your schoolyard to find that? Hayley was ecstatic. She couldn’t help herself and ended up throwing herself to the ground to make a snow angel, and then she started playing while we waited for the bell to ring. I was freezing but it was fun to watch how happy she was.

She told me that at recess and lunch time recess they had the best time out in the snow. Kids were playing all kinds of games and were probably not thrilled to come back inside. Ah, youth.

She’s also had a lot of fun with her tea set (and between the one we got for Breanna’s birthday and this new one, we have enormous tea parties now!) and has played with it every day since buying it. She also won’t even get into bed at night without her new doll. Maybe she’s finally found a special doll after five years of being mostly ambivalent.

The tea pot that stores everything is huge.

But you have to see it next to her to get the perspective on how huge it truly is.

I’m still impressed with her choices for toys all by herself. Such a good little shopper!

Tomorrow is the last day of class before the holiday break. They’re having a pajama party and all the kids will wear pajamas all day long. She is so excited that I thought she wouldn’t sleep at all – instead she fell asleep within ten minutes after staying up 20 minutes later than bedtime so we could watch the old Rudolph special. It’s so nice to sit with my own two kids and watch Christmas specials that meant so much to me as a kid too.

I can’t believe Christmas is just around the corner!

The origins of the phrase “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus”. I heard the saying before but never knew where it came from. What a touching story! (Via MetroDad)

• I put up a new template for my blog. I haven’t decided if I love it or not but at least it’s a change. Maybe I need to make my own header.
• I’ve been watching that new game show “Duel”. It’s good but it drives me nuts how they drag it all out so long. Just ask the question, play the game, give the answer, and let’s get on with it. Also, the contestants have pissed me off a few times with their incorrect answers to questions. Seriously, someone thought it took YEARS for the light to travel from the sun to the Earth? Seriously?! And tonight, neither one knew that a cello and a violin have four strings each? GAH.
• Someone please come and rescue me. For reasons I can not understand, I am sitting here in the living room watching the Spice Girls documentary. Willingly. What the hell is wrong with me? Is this what happens to me when the writers go on strike?
• Speaking of television, someone kindly reassure me that I’m not the only one who is eagerly awaiting Dance Wars: Bruno Vs. Carrie Ann. Honestly, I was so excited when I first heard about it. And there’s no doubt for me – when the commercial comes on and they ask which team you’re on, I always cheer, “BRUNO!” Sorry Carrie Ann, I like you a lot but I would very much like to carry Bruno around in my pocket so I could pull him out when I need a hilarious and flamboyant Italian man to make me smile.
• Still speaking of television, I never noticed until Hayley started school that so many of the Christmas specials air at 8 and 8:30 pm. I’ve let her stay up until 8:30 to watch some specials on Treehouse that keep running from 7:30 until 8:30 but I can’t let her watch something that only finishes at 9. She’s hard enough to get moving in the morning as it is. I hope there’s some good stuff on Friday so she can watch those.
• George and I started watching Polar Express several years ago and never finished it, deeming it dull. It was playing on CBC the other night and I ended up watching it. What was I thinking, I loved it! I kept hearing people found it creepy but I thought it was charming and fun. I want Hayley to see it this weekend.
• Breanna is really into Santa this year. She shrieks his name when she sees anything to do with him. I asked if she’s going to sit on Santa’s knee for a picture and she shouted, “YES!” so hopefully we’ll avoid last year’s hilarious but freaked out photo:

  

• Hayley’s school had a “Previously Enjoyed Toys Sale” today. Last week the kids were invited to bring in up to five toys that were in good condition, then everything was priced from 50 cents to two dollars. Today they let the kids buy new-to-them toys. I never know what to expect from Hayley but she surprised me. She took five dollars in with her and she came home with a gigantic Princess teapot that houses a whole tea set, a lovely soft doll that she named Molly, and a little light-up toy. The tea set is awesome and I love the doll because there are no hard parts which means it’s perfect for cuddling. The light-up toy flashes so rapidly I fear I may have a seizure but the batteries never last long in those anyway. Good little shopper!
• I need a tea.

Hayley hasn’t eaten her favorite lunch of peanut butter sandwiches very often lately because she isn’t allowed to bring them to school due to allergies, and on weekends we often have brunch with eggs. Since she was home today, she wanted one. That was fine except that used up the rest of the peanut butter.

As far as Breanna is concerned these days, a breakfast that doesn’t include toast with a thin layer of peanut butter is not worth eating. It was a crisis of epic proportions, so this afternoon I left the kids here with George and braced myself to head to the store. ForecastFox was telling me it was -25 with the wind chill but it wasn’t bad at all. The weather itself was nice. What was less nice was the total lack of sidewalks so that I had to walk on the street. Luckily, no buses passed me so it wasn’t as bad as last time when I thought I was going to have to scale a snowbank that was higher than me (the driver saw me and swerved in a wide arc around me, much appreciated!).

I made it to the store and back and survived and took many pictures along the way. The snowbanks were crazy once again. Not surprising since we got over 30 cm of snow, which is more snow than we’ve gotten in several decades.

And on my way back, I looked up from across the street and saw – barely – George and Breanna peering out the window over the massive snow drift on our balcony. It was kind of hilarious because George is 6’2″ and I could just make out his head over all the snow.

You can see the rest of the photos I took over here.

And in other news, Muffin Watch: Yesterday I polished off the remaining two for breakfast. I made more tonight so I could send some with Hayley for dessert. Out of the dozen I made at supper time? I put two in her lunch, she ate two for a bedtime snack, and I just ate two with my Earl Grey tea. We’re already half way through the batch and I only made them five hours ago. Sheesh.

With the forecast I mentioned yesterday, we had a feeling that tomorrow would be an official snow day for Hayley.

I’m pretty sure that I won’t even bother to set my alarm to check the radio for the school closings. I’m quite certain that the school – and many others – will be shut down tomorrow.

Why?

Because at almost 10 pm it’s still coming down out there, and about four hours ago I took this picture:

As far as I’m concerned that’s totally a snow day.