snowflakes

Here are our snowflake crystals we made, they turned out really great!

1 more day, 1 more day, 1 more day till I can go hog wild!!

Christmas

I am getting ready for Christmas. Well, as much as Paul will allow me. You see we have a bit of a family rule that Christmas doesn't enter our house before Dec 1. So, as that day approaches, I get more antsy and need to squeeze in some illegal Christmas joy. I have wanted to get the boxes of Christmas stuff from the basement so I can simply "organize" it, but I got a big NO on that one. So, with only a few days left before I can go full boar, I decided to do some "crafts" with the kids. We made playdoh, innocent enough, but I snuck in some glitter and made it smell like a candy cane! Christmas Play doh! We are also making "ice crystals" with pipe cleaners shaped like a snowflake hanging in a jar of boiling water and Borax, hopefully overnight there will be crystals on the snowflake! Oh, and don't tell Paul but we listened to Christmas music while we crafted! The weather isn't helping things either, it is snowing, to0 perfect! Beaner's response to Paul today when he asked her if she wanted to help do Christmas baking on Tues.. "only if it snows Dada, then we can make Gingerbread Men". She even gets it! Well, I think I will head out for a snow walk with the kids, have some hot cocoa and eat some Mandarin oranges, all while I hum Jingle Bells. Fa la la la la......

On My Mind...

What is on my mind? Well, here it all is...

1. Tea. I am waiting for my Chai Tea to steep and have been in a tea indulgent state these past weeks. I can't get enough. I hope it is ready soon.

2. Flu shots. Jude got his done 2 weeks ago and I found out that we can all get done at our Shopper's Drug Mart for free, no line ups, just make an appt and go. So today is the day the rest of us get done. That should be fun. I will let you know how the girl's do!

3. More tea... my tea is ready, I'll be right back.

4. Flies. There is a big fly in the house trying to get outside, little does he know that our house is the safest haven for him. Outside there is over 10cm of snow, poor fly, he doesn't know any better.

5. Christmas lights. This one is two fold. Tomorrow we are going to go to the light up in the Platzl, it will be fun. Santa arrives in a fire truck and turns on all the lights. I am venturing out alone with the kids as Paul will be at a Cribbage Tournament (which he lost last year, and by lost I mean got knocked out the first round and got the last place trophy). Our track record on this event going smoothly with our children has not been good. Let's hope that tomorrow will be a success with no one getting lost or throwing HUGE tantrums. Also, I am hoping to get solar Christmas lights this year for the front of our house. We don't have a plug that works there anymore so I am hoping to decorate and light up the neighbourhood with the sun's power!

6. Lethbridge. What? Well, we are hoping to head there after church on Sunday, stay with a friend overnight and shop! Our friend is even willing to play with the girl's on Mon morning so we can go shop for them for Christmas! We really want to go if all the factors fall into place, like weather and .... well, that leads us to number 7.

7. Colds. No flu in our house but a cold is making it's rounds.

8. Even more tea, boy my Chai tea is tasty!

9. Passports. We need to get passports so Paul and I can take a little trip to the States alone! We haven't been away from the kids in years and not for more than one night, so we are pushing our luck and gonna try for two! I just saw that Paul printed off some applications so hopefully we can get them done in time for us to go!

10. Wow, I made it to ten... the problem is I've run out of ideas. Oh well, what is on your mind lately?

New Fun

This is the new fun that J Man has in his room. It is no wonder why we haven't seen the girl's all day, they have taken a liking to his room!! There was this slide on a street close to ours, and as we went for a walk yesterday the people who own it wanted to get rid of it, so as we walked by, they gave it to us. The kids have been having so much fun with it, only after we drained the water that had frozen on the inside, and struggled to get it upstairs, but we did it and they love it!

J Man now understands cameras and how to say "cheese"... too cute!

oh, and he also has begun pretending to be a dog, also too cute!

...and not so new... sitting in anything he can fit into!

snow, forts and skates....

Here is a bit of what we have been up to this weekend...

It snowed on Sat night, the great big fluffy snow that is seen in movies! It is hard to drive in, especially when it is dark... it looks like you are in the Millenium Falcon going into warp speed!

But it is sure fun to play in!

There was also Fort Time, which the girl's started but I could only capture J-Man enjoying it!

Then today, we headed out skating, so much fun!

We even ran into CiCi's best friend!

We forgot the helmets, our kids were the only ones living on the dangerous side, but all went well and no head injuries!

oh, and on a foot note, I am a better skater than Paul!!