Travelling again.

Ola! What's been shaking ...

Friday the 18th
In the morning we headed to the grocery store & other venues to finish up the gathering for Hanukah dinner. Oh my god it was super cold! Around 3pm the guests started arriving - Amanda, Ellard, Ian, Kayla, Dad, and much later on Ced. The food was terrific! My dad/bro brought a couple of things from the caterer - latkas, brisket, and matzo ball soup. I cooked the chicken, potatoes, and made a salad. Amanda brought a super dessert! The meal was great and the kids got awesome gifts!!! Hannah's dream came true and she got the Barbie Diamond Castle and Princess Chair!! Jakey got a workbench with all sorts of tools & a bucket of shapes. The kids were in delight!
About 10pm Mike & Miriam came over to watch the Ricky Gervais comedy special - HOW HILLARIOUS!!!

Saturday the 19th
In the morning we headed to Ced's parents for breakfast & play. In the afternoon I got some errands done and some cooking cooked. Then at night Kayla came over to watch the kids while I headed to Angie's to watch The Women - super slow! I never made it through. We eneded up talking so much/late that the movie never was finished.

Sunday the 20th
Ball hockey - loss! Ouch! I guess I will finish the season with a couple of assists and 1 goal!! Yahoo!
Then it was off to Centrum to pick up all sorts of fun stuff for the dinner at night.
Cooking - more cooking - and more.
Ced's family came over for dinner at night and the menu was: Thai Mushroom Soup, Vietnamese Spring Rolls, Indian Butter Chicken, Red Thai Shrimp Curry, Beef & Brocolli. All made from scratch! I'm learning how to cook all sorts of cultures and it's pretty neat! The spices are really smelly - very! Dinner was great and the kids got (again) some super gifts! Hannah got the Horse Carousel for Diamond Castle, a step-on gigantic Piano, clothes, and Jakey got the Little People Circus, a little Tykes drum, and clothes. All hits!

Monday the 21st
I watched all the kids during the morning while Ced & Jen got some stuff done. Then in the afternoon the kids napped and I headed to the store to finish up the packing for the annual xmas trip to St-Claire. At night I headed to meet up with my volleyball team to 1000 Sushi Islands place on Carling - FANTASTIC!!! It was 20$ all you can eat - but you ordered as if it were a regular restuarant - no buffet style. The rule was if you didn't eat what you ordered, you paid the a la carte prices for it. Very sweet! The sushi was just incredible!

Wow - now I'm in St. Claire (about an hour out of Quebec city) celebrating Christmas with Ced's family. Yay for high speed and two napping/sick kids.

So some cool things I wanted to mention.

1. Jakey fell in the tub while I was filling it for bathtime the other day. I mean there was/is ever about 6 inches but I heard clunk - then Hannah started screaming at me to come up and that Jakey fell in the bath! She actually started running down the stairs to get me. I ran up - Jakey was standing in the bath, in tears, trying to get his diaper off. He wasn't even hurt. But it was so nice to that Hannah will tell me there is something wrong.

2. Hannah finally grasped the 'flip' trick and can now put on her own jacket! Way cool.

3. Jakey has started saying No regularily - not always appropriate but hey, it's a start.

4. I am done my ball hockey and have decided to rejoin again. I'm a sucker but I love it!

5. My list to do is getting done - unbelieveable!

ok, that's all for now. I'll update later.

cheers,
sharon

One more day 'til the Diamond Castle is opened!

I'd say the holiday season is more busy but really it's always this busy. What a balance between family, friends, and fun. The coolest thing happened today, after Hannah painted, she went and got her stool that she uses in the bathroom and put it below the bathroom sink and washed her hands. That was crazy! Then she asked for a towel to dry them on. Ok, my daughter is more polite than I.

The past few days are a blur! The only constant is that Hannah asks for presents now everday. Nice.

So what's been shaking? Last Friday I headed to Julie's for a playdate where there were tons more kids than adults - a very scary situation! Hannah of course made friends with the older girl. At one point the older kids were in the playhouse yelling at the younger kids calling them monsters. So cute to see the older ones band together in unison. In the afternoon we headed to Ced's work family xmas party - kinda of lame so we headed to Jen's which we stayed at and Ced came and we all had Gabriel's. Yummy! Then it was off to the Casino ... mwah - I wasn't let in because I had rips in my pants! For the love of god. So it was off to the Hearth & Crown.

Saturday we headed to Ced's parents - the kids have a blast but boy do they make a mess!!! In the afternoon we divided and conquered the kids and I got a lot of the shopping done. Then at night Ced went to the Sens game and I went out with Angie to see 4 Christmases - it was super funny!

On Sunday we lost our ball hockey game - BUT - I SCORED!! YAHOO!! Then as the nice wife I am I came home and took the kids out so Ced could sleep. Ha ha - the Roger's guy came to fix our cable so no sleep to be had! In the afternoon the Kemp's came over and we had a gift exchange - lucky kids! I also debuted my Indian Butter Chicken dish that I made from scratch - lesson - do not substitute lime for lemon juice. It don't work :(

Monday it was preschool for Hannah and Jakey and I cleaned at home during. At night it was off to volleyball - still haven't lost a game! Yihaa.

Yesterday Jen & I took turns watching the kids while the other tending to errands/appointments. Before you knew it it was time for the BTI Party (Jen) and dinner with the family (me). So craziness - Jakey & Hannah were INCREDIBLE at the restaurant again! I don't know why/how they do it but I was so proud. I ate like a normal person - I really should go back on weight watchers. Maintaining this 140lbs is tough.

Today we had the KCNS Christmas Party! What fun - although Jakey was a little under the weather (I had to wake him at 8:45am from a nap he was taking to go). Jakey, at 6:30am, BUSTED through his door - on which I have a safety lock on. He's nuts!

Then this afternoon the quite time turned into Food Basics, Farmboy, Bulk Barn, Thai Grocery Store, and Starbucks. Then I cooked 2 portions of Indian Butter Chicken from scratch, 2 portions of the the Chinese Beef and Brocolli from scratch, and 2 portions of the Thai Mushroom soup from scratch. After dinner I took the kids out for a walk to see the lights on the houses and a play in the snow! I know that it probably wasn't the smartest but once in a while it can't hurt.

Now I'm blogging. And cold from making snow angels with no snow suit one :(

Cheers,
Sharon

Picture Puzzle.

Words to come ...

Sharon