Santa Claus is coming, strike that..... has BEEN to town! The dust has finally settled after a busy few days and I am enjoying the chance to sit here with a cup of tea and unwind. (Aren't laptops great - what did we do before we could work on a couch??) Anyway, let's rewind a week or so....
The first event on the week's calender was the school Christmas party. Knowing that 2 babies at such an event would be very hard work, I arranged a babysitter, and after being at the party I was pretty happy with my decision.The staff at the party did a great job. Each group of tables had a different Christmas themed activity, so Miss 3 and I made decorations, coloured pictures and decorated Christmas tree shaped Rice Krispy (Rice Bubbles to us Aussies!) treats (which lasted about 1 minute!) Then, we ate party food! What more could you want as a 3 year old? After that, the parents were treated to some singing of carols in the gym, complete with the shaking of jingle bells.Very cute.
We had a big dump of snow finally which was fantastic. It was snowman time! We tried the method we'd been told, which was to roll a snowball, then roll it on the ground. It works, but blimey it gets big and heavy quickly - especially when your only helper is a 3 year old! Great fun though. It was also great to just play in the snow with Miss 3...."Mum, throw snowballs at me!" "Ok!!" It'll be fantastic next year when the twins are old enough to run around outside too. Especially if they can figure out how to put their own mittens on, although not likely!
It ws a Saturday evening and we took the mob across the street to have drinks with the neighbours. Great fun, even if the children did demolish the cheese with their hands! I also got my neighbour hooked on my homemade rum balls :) We came home, ate dinner and my sister and I decided that we couldn't let all those warm-up drinks go to waste so we headed out on the town for some drinks and dancing. We'd quizzed the neighbour to figure out where would be good to go, and after having a classy cocktail, we went to a lounge/club type venue with 3 floors with 3 different types of music. We thought it would only be fair to have a drink on each level :) Our final destination was the top floor which had the best dance floor, and was where we stayed until home time, in spite of some very 'interesting' characters!
I think that as a mum it's important to go out dancing all night now and again... if just to remind yourself why you don't do it every weekend :) The next day my feet and knees hurt and I was damn tired! Thankfully, we had no real plans, so I was able to sleep it off before Christmas Eve. It was pretty cold that day, so my sister, Miss 3 and myself spent the day making bright coloured paper chains to hang around all the windows. They looked particularly good behind the Christmas tree if I do say so myself! Before bed, we arranged all the presents under the tree (always gives me a tingle of anticipation) and made sure that 'Santa' had his treats of a Freddo Frog and juice. (Miss 3's rationale - I really like these things so Santa will too.)
Christmas Day itself passed in a whir of wrapping paper, food, drink and new toys. Probably much the same as other families! Although one big difference from most Aussie families was that we all really enjoyed having hot food - a refreshing change from salads! There is nothing quite like hot roast turkey with gravy and roast veg. We had cranberry on the side too, which the kids loved. After a big, late lunch it was cheese and crackers for dinner - again! Oh well, it is the silly season :) Unfortunately, there was no snow on the day; so we'll have to hope for next year.
Boxing Day is apparantly sledding day for a few families with young kids in this neighbourhood. So off we trekked to Rideau Hall, the home of the Governor General. And when I say trekked, I mean walked a block :) Apart from the brisk air (-12) it was a beautiful sunny day. We were happy to discover that Miss 3 is quite fearless scooting down a hill; it should make our February skiing holiday more fun. We were also happy to discover how easy it is to pull a kid along in a sled.
So... that was Christmas 2012 for us here in Ottawa. Not much planned for tomorrow, just a little flight to NEW YORK CITY with my sister for a girls trip!! No, not excited at all!! Although, I must confess it will be weird to be away from the kids. I have done the right thing though, and set up play dates for hubby and kids so that he doesn't get cabin fever. I'm fairly sure that the few days will go pretty quickly for me at least. So, off to bed I go and I'll fill you in on NYC later.
Night, night!
Wednesday 26 December 2012
Tuesday 18 December 2012
'Tis the season.....
a) to have sniffles?
b) to go it alone?
c) to have a house guest?
d) to eat and drink too much?
e) to deal with ice and snow?
f) for the man in the red suit?
g) all of the above?
And the answer is g! In a way a lot has happened since my last post, but at the same time not very much. The dreaded winter cold hit our house with a vengeance, about 3 times now I think. Of course, not everyone gets sick at once: all the kids take turns, followed by the adults. By the time everyone is finally healthy, another cold comes home! I do of course know exactly how to avoid getting sick, but as that involves never, ever leaving the house with the kids and never, ever inviting anyone over, we are happy to take the risk :)
Hubby has been busy with work over the last couple of months, with 2 work trips in 3 weeks in November. That included a week overseas, which to be honest seemed to involve as much beer, food, nights out and sightseeing as actual work. (We'll see how long until he reads this and complains to me!!) To be honest I was a little worried about doing it alone with all the kids. Being a twin dad, hubby is pretty hands on and the logistics of getting 14 month old twins and a 3 and a half year old to bed every night can be a little daunting. Thankfully, the kids were mostly good, I got a little extra babysitting help and a plus was that I caught up on lots of rom coms. (Yes, I can be such a girl sometimes.) The only real downer was on his second trip away (thankfully only 3 nights) where I injured my ribs on the first night. (Short version: I had a cold and coughed while twisting to pick up a cuppa. I wouldn't recommend it.) Repeatedly picking up kids, in and out of prams and cars, high chairs and bathing - all quite painful. Luckily a few trips to the physio have made a huge difference. I still can't believe that I managed to do it to be honest!
December arrived and with it an Aussie visitor - a beloved aunt (my sister). Miss 3 came to the airport and was unbelievably excited - ran over and leapt into Aunty's arms for a very long hug with the biggest grin on her face. Of course now my poor sister now has a little voice in her ear all day every day, and even at midnight last night! We've had a chat about that :) We probably haven't done as much sightseeing as I'd hoped we might (see point a, and also some pretty cold days where little kids get cranky being out too long) but we made a good afternoon of it today traipsing around the city in the endlesss snow, rain and slush. At least it was warm - 0 degrees! And so what if all the photos have a carpet of white falling from the sky? At least there is no doubt as to when we were out and about! Anyway, the damp, slushy weather wasn't anything a Beavertail (a local treat, kind of like a flat donut) in the afternoon didn't fix.
And this leads nicely into d....eating and drinking too much. Something we all tend to do at this time of year; thanks to Jane Caro for a quote I read in The Age "If you don't put on weight during the festive season you're doing it wrong." It's also something we tend to do when we have a house guest. (Wine and cheese before dinner anyone? Out for dinner shall we? Movie munchies perhaps?) In fact, we did just have wine and cheese for dinner the other night - a 'quiet' evening with another family of 5 but we figure that the hommus with baby carrots made it a balanced meal. So much for setting a good example for your children! Even playgroup is a source of too much food, beacuse of course we had a Christmas party where everyone brought a plate (potluck as they call it in these parts) which of course were plates of biscuits and crackers and cake. (Oh my!) This week also brings a school Christmas party and drinks with the neighbours, so I may need to live on water and carrot sticks inbetween!
So there is no doubting that winter has arrived. The temperature has been more variable then I thought it would be with maximums anything from -8 to 4 over the last couple of weeks. Still, it is the sort of weather where you make sure that you have hats, coats gloves/mittens for everyone ready to go on and a snowsuit for Miss 3 for school so she can play outside. (Gosh it doesn't take long at all to get the kids out the door..................) One thing you don't think about as an Aussie (well, it doesn't come naturally to me anyway) is that you also need to consider the time it takes to get the car ready. A morning of 0 or so with fluffy snow is fine; you start the car and it is just about warm enough to drive after brushing off the snow. Colder takes longer, ice can take a while. We also have a tall car, making it impossible for me to effectively clean anything off the roof, so I end up with a constant drip of water on the windscreen, with the odd chunk of ice sliding down. We have quickly become thankful that we live on a bus route as it means our road is always cleared straight away. Interesting fact; the wiper fluid that is rated to -40 is explosive. Don't think I'd want that under the bonnet in Australia somehow....
So, kids and Christmas, you have to see the man in the red suit. We trekked to the local 'mall' to have our visit and photo and I have to say they had a fantastic set-up. When Santa arrived, the queue was let through into his little, circular area, where the line then waited around the back of Santa's chair. Around here was a slide, snowmen with benches for photo ops, a DVD playing, igloos for the kids to crawl in and out of - in short a genius idea. The kids were all amused waiting and the time went so much faster,even if a lot of them were pretty excitable by the time they reached Santa. Sadly, the twins decided that they didn't like Santa (screaming in unison anyone?) but Miss 3 leapt onto his knee for the first time ever and had a lovely chat. Of course, then Santa turned up at the playgroup Christmas party, and while happy with her book, she was wondering what happened to the Lego she asked for. Nothing a quick explanation that Santa saves the best gifts for the big day didn't fix! Wouldn't it be nice to be that innocent again?
So, that's about that. I'm actually looking forward to a quiet day at home tomorrow (well, as quiet as a day at home can be!) given that next week will be busy. I'm also hoping to redeem myself after falling a little short in mother of the year today. I somehow didn't quite click the child gate on the stairs this morning, and the twins who have always in the past enjoyed pushing it shut to hear the click, today made a break for it up the stairs. I had one on the landing and one near the top (where the world is not very child-proofed and Miss 3 keeps her little toys) when Miss 3 casually called out "Mum - my sisters are up the stairs!" Cue heart attack for mum! They were not happy about getting caught to be honest - not sure what their plan was! I also didn't hear Miss 3 get up at midnight and come down to see her aunty, after which she decided to sleep on the couch?? At least she used a blanket I guess! Needless to say, I will do better tomorrow!
So off to bed I go so I can be alert and ready! Merry Christmas, and wish us snow everyone :)
b) to go it alone?
c) to have a house guest?
d) to eat and drink too much?
e) to deal with ice and snow?
f) for the man in the red suit?
g) all of the above?
And the answer is g! In a way a lot has happened since my last post, but at the same time not very much. The dreaded winter cold hit our house with a vengeance, about 3 times now I think. Of course, not everyone gets sick at once: all the kids take turns, followed by the adults. By the time everyone is finally healthy, another cold comes home! I do of course know exactly how to avoid getting sick, but as that involves never, ever leaving the house with the kids and never, ever inviting anyone over, we are happy to take the risk :)
Hubby has been busy with work over the last couple of months, with 2 work trips in 3 weeks in November. That included a week overseas, which to be honest seemed to involve as much beer, food, nights out and sightseeing as actual work. (We'll see how long until he reads this and complains to me!!) To be honest I was a little worried about doing it alone with all the kids. Being a twin dad, hubby is pretty hands on and the logistics of getting 14 month old twins and a 3 and a half year old to bed every night can be a little daunting. Thankfully, the kids were mostly good, I got a little extra babysitting help and a plus was that I caught up on lots of rom coms. (Yes, I can be such a girl sometimes.) The only real downer was on his second trip away (thankfully only 3 nights) where I injured my ribs on the first night. (Short version: I had a cold and coughed while twisting to pick up a cuppa. I wouldn't recommend it.) Repeatedly picking up kids, in and out of prams and cars, high chairs and bathing - all quite painful. Luckily a few trips to the physio have made a huge difference. I still can't believe that I managed to do it to be honest!
December arrived and with it an Aussie visitor - a beloved aunt (my sister). Miss 3 came to the airport and was unbelievably excited - ran over and leapt into Aunty's arms for a very long hug with the biggest grin on her face. Of course now my poor sister now has a little voice in her ear all day every day, and even at midnight last night! We've had a chat about that :) We probably haven't done as much sightseeing as I'd hoped we might (see point a, and also some pretty cold days where little kids get cranky being out too long) but we made a good afternoon of it today traipsing around the city in the endlesss snow, rain and slush. At least it was warm - 0 degrees! And so what if all the photos have a carpet of white falling from the sky? At least there is no doubt as to when we were out and about! Anyway, the damp, slushy weather wasn't anything a Beavertail (a local treat, kind of like a flat donut) in the afternoon didn't fix.
And this leads nicely into d....eating and drinking too much. Something we all tend to do at this time of year; thanks to Jane Caro for a quote I read in The Age "If you don't put on weight during the festive season you're doing it wrong." It's also something we tend to do when we have a house guest. (Wine and cheese before dinner anyone? Out for dinner shall we? Movie munchies perhaps?) In fact, we did just have wine and cheese for dinner the other night - a 'quiet' evening with another family of 5 but we figure that the hommus with baby carrots made it a balanced meal. So much for setting a good example for your children! Even playgroup is a source of too much food, beacuse of course we had a Christmas party where everyone brought a plate (potluck as they call it in these parts) which of course were plates of biscuits and crackers and cake. (Oh my!) This week also brings a school Christmas party and drinks with the neighbours, so I may need to live on water and carrot sticks inbetween!
So there is no doubting that winter has arrived. The temperature has been more variable then I thought it would be with maximums anything from -8 to 4 over the last couple of weeks. Still, it is the sort of weather where you make sure that you have hats, coats gloves/mittens for everyone ready to go on and a snowsuit for Miss 3 for school so she can play outside. (Gosh it doesn't take long at all to get the kids out the door..................) One thing you don't think about as an Aussie (well, it doesn't come naturally to me anyway) is that you also need to consider the time it takes to get the car ready. A morning of 0 or so with fluffy snow is fine; you start the car and it is just about warm enough to drive after brushing off the snow. Colder takes longer, ice can take a while. We also have a tall car, making it impossible for me to effectively clean anything off the roof, so I end up with a constant drip of water on the windscreen, with the odd chunk of ice sliding down. We have quickly become thankful that we live on a bus route as it means our road is always cleared straight away. Interesting fact; the wiper fluid that is rated to -40 is explosive. Don't think I'd want that under the bonnet in Australia somehow....
So, kids and Christmas, you have to see the man in the red suit. We trekked to the local 'mall' to have our visit and photo and I have to say they had a fantastic set-up. When Santa arrived, the queue was let through into his little, circular area, where the line then waited around the back of Santa's chair. Around here was a slide, snowmen with benches for photo ops, a DVD playing, igloos for the kids to crawl in and out of - in short a genius idea. The kids were all amused waiting and the time went so much faster,even if a lot of them were pretty excitable by the time they reached Santa. Sadly, the twins decided that they didn't like Santa (screaming in unison anyone?) but Miss 3 leapt onto his knee for the first time ever and had a lovely chat. Of course, then Santa turned up at the playgroup Christmas party, and while happy with her book, she was wondering what happened to the Lego she asked for. Nothing a quick explanation that Santa saves the best gifts for the big day didn't fix! Wouldn't it be nice to be that innocent again?
So, that's about that. I'm actually looking forward to a quiet day at home tomorrow (well, as quiet as a day at home can be!) given that next week will be busy. I'm also hoping to redeem myself after falling a little short in mother of the year today. I somehow didn't quite click the child gate on the stairs this morning, and the twins who have always in the past enjoyed pushing it shut to hear the click, today made a break for it up the stairs. I had one on the landing and one near the top (where the world is not very child-proofed and Miss 3 keeps her little toys) when Miss 3 casually called out "Mum - my sisters are up the stairs!" Cue heart attack for mum! They were not happy about getting caught to be honest - not sure what their plan was! I also didn't hear Miss 3 get up at midnight and come down to see her aunty, after which she decided to sleep on the couch?? At least she used a blanket I guess! Needless to say, I will do better tomorrow!
So off to bed I go so I can be alert and ready! Merry Christmas, and wish us snow everyone :)
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