Dear 2010...I'm done with you. Bring on 2011.

So, it's nearly a week past Christmas and the usual end-of-the-year chaos reigns in our household. Overflowing recycling bags of shredded wrapping paper and packaging has been stacked in the garage; leftover turkey and ham is dwindling in the fridge; batteries have been drained, recharged and drained again; Moon Sand packages have already been emptied onto the kitchen island; fresh bubble bath bottles have been added to much-needed soaks; snowmen socks have been ceremoniously added to the laundry basket for the first time; Ferrero Rochers and cashew cans have been opened; gifts that needed different sizes or working parts have been returned or exchanged; wrapping paper and cards for next year have been purchased at 50% off; and my new Xmas morning slippers have already fallen apart. Santa was good to us once again. I hope he was to you, too, dear readers!

I'm still in the midst of my holiday hiatus, soaking in the simple bliss of time at home with family and loved ones, watching the magic and wonderment of children that sparkles with the snow this time of year, and carving out childhood memories and traditions for my girls to cherish, so I'll make this a short post.

Highlights of this Christmas:

• Watching Avie learn how to clap. She now claps for anything, anyone, anytime. Love the accompanying grin that goes with it!


• TSO concert with my Hubby.


• Christmas Eve Day cookie baking with B.


• Getting Mike Rios' Christmas card and trying to explain the nudies to my mother-in-law.


• B setting out milk and cookies for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph. (Hubby's first time drinking the milk and eating the cookie. He left the end of the carrot and some credible crumbs as evidence of his handiwork. I wrote a Santa letter to the girls. It was too much fun!)


• Brooke jumping around, saying 'I knew it! I knew it!' every time she or anyone else opened a gift. Grandmaman pulling B around the living room in the sled.


• Brooke actually hugging and kissing the box with the 'Singing in the Bath Ariel' doll in it (given to her by Grandpa and Grandma Louise).


• The kids' faces and shrieks of delight when Hubby set off the Christmas Day fireworks. Awesome!


• My jewelry box handmade by Hubby.


• Grace's Christmas Day 'bumpy' candy skirt and her cool hightops. Very chic.


• Rich shovelling the wrapping paper off the floor with his new snow shovel.


• Dylan's expressively unimpressed face when he received underwear as a present.


• Jackie's delicious Boxing Day crepes.
  
• Avie learning how to crawl--well, crouch and scout, anyways. She's never the same place I left her!


• Playing WTF with Hubby, Jax and Bren and answering some of the raunchiest and thought-provoking questions I've ever been asked.


• The kids and Brooke's new doll (dressed in it's tiny rubber boots, of course) on the sledding hill.


• Avie folded in two on the floor, falling asleep while sitting.


• Snapping photos of B's first venture on her new skates today. She may have wobbled like Bambi, but she was a terrific sport!


• And, the best one--Brooke's last chemo treatment on Dec. 20th and the resulting 'WINNER!' medallion she picked out of the Medical Day Unit's treasure box.

Lowlights of this Christmas:

• Christmas slippers that fell apart precisely 1 hour after I put them on my feet. Shame as they are so comfortable! Damn you and your poor stitching, Giant Tiger.


• And, tonight---B is once again at CHEO.

Apparently, my eldest daughter has started her own Christmas tradition--injuring herself every Christmas season. No real worries, people. She fell down and bumped her head, leaving a half-inch, and seemingly very shallow, gash behind. Might need stitches, so Hubby has taken her to the hospital.

We had a blood test yesterday afternoon, so we know her numbers are very high this week and she is at no risk of infection, which is good. Still, we called ahead and ER staff have currently placed her and Hubby in an isolation room. I am waiting to hear more details.

Deja vu from last Christmas. At least this year, we are better prepared. Certainly helped that Santa brought B her very own Netbook, pre-loaded with her favourite movies and websites. Sigh.

As wonderful as Christmas has been to us (I didn't even mention the rest of the pressies Santa brought all of us!), I'll be happy to have this humdinger of a year behind us.

Merry Christmas, folks! May 2011 bring you all the joys you deserve.

Update for January 10, 2011: I never got around to editing and posting the previous bit during the holidays, but I thought after this morning, I ought to.

I was on here, listening to my playlist when, Brooke asked me to play 'her' song. (It's a song we attributed to her upon her birth. Part of the birth video Hubby made years ago. It's on the playlist. Reader challenge: Can you guess which one it is?)

Anyways, she said she wanted to dance to the tune. So, I whipped out the camcorder, keyed up the song and she started twirling around. It was beautiful--until her legs slid out from underneath her and she toppled into a sidetable! I put the camera down, thinking she had just bumped herself and would need a kiss on the boo-boo, but when I saw the blood droplets on my little klutz's shoulders, I did what all mothers do. Raced her to the washroom to get a better look and get a washcloth to stem the flow of blood.

A gash on the top of her head--another one, not two weeks after the first one--about a half-inch in length and about six inches from the one already healing on the back of her head. Applied pressure, washed it with antiseptic towelette, put on Polysporin and a bandage and called Hubby. Met him halfway to CHEO, where he is now with Brooke. At least we're getting the use out of that little Netbook Hubby got B for Christmas....

B cried for a bit, but as soon as the initial pain receded, she was fine. She was more upset by the blood on her new favourite shirt ('favourite' as of two hours before when I unearthed it from the bottom of the drawer), which I promptly soaked in the sink with the washcloth. Myself--I'm still wearing my bloodied shirt. I should probably soak that one, too.

Anyways, don't know if it will require stitches, but we don't want to take any chances. (Last gash was simply glued together and bandaged, which B yanked off the next day.) Luckily, because she is an oncology patient, she is put in her own room and doesn't have to wait in Emergency with the rest of the walk-ins.

B has had one helluva 375 days! Just when we thought all of this was coming to an end, she has to go and bump her noggin. And, we are set to have her first post-chemo CT scan on Friday. So, it looks like it's gonna be one of those weeks again...Can we please get to Saturday already?!

Happy New Year, folks. Sorry for the long spiel.

Something Christmasy for the boys

For my hubby, nothing spells the Christmas season so much as the Victoria Secret Fashion Show. You know the one--the fashion soirée hosted by the most It Girl supermodel of the moment? The biggest fashion event in the world--the one with all of the angel wings and celebrity performers and stunningly glitterific ladies? It generally makes it appearance right after American Thanksgiving and has a distinctly festive feel to it.

Always gets my husband in the mood--in more ways than one! ;) And, it is definitely on his 'lifetime' bucket list. How he ever plans to score tickets to it is beyond me, but there you go.

Anyways, it's a great show. I watch it, too, because I love the costumey fashion and the over-the-top wings and the fab music and the sheer giddiness on those gorgeous girls faces. They really seem to love to be apart of this show! I guess for a model, being a Victoria Secret Angel is akin to Christmas morning for kids. It just doesn't get better than that.

Well, we don't have anything quite like that lingerie show here in Canada, but this Christmas, we do have something worthy of our boys' attention: La Senza's Cup Size Choir.

This is for you, fellas. Enjoy!

Secret Santa

So, I have learned that Brooke is absolutely the worst secret-keeper ever. I should never have trusted her with any kind of insider information, but as she was standing beside me when I made the discovery, it was hard not to include her and take her into my confidence.

Set scenario? Okay. Yesterday, I'm flipping around online while Avie is taking her nap, looking at the Jean Coutu website as Jax had mentioned to me the night before that enlargements were 40% off this week and I was thinking of printing some photos in time for the holidays.

Out of curiosity, I decided to check out photo gifts and found some thermal coffee travel mugs that you can personalize with a photo or drawing. I thought that for $19.99, Hubby might like one with a photo of the girls on it or some of Brooke's artwork. Would make a great Christmas gift for a proud papa who drinks coffee like it is going out of style. And, he never seems to have enough of those mugs!

So, my ''aha!'' moment arrived and as Brooke was beside me, I asked her wouldn't it be a great gift idea for Daddy? She jumped and clapped her hands. ''That's me!'' she exclaimed, as I tooled around with some design samples, "It's perfect!''

I then explained to her that it would be a surprise for Christmas and that she couldn't tell him about it. I figured she'd be good at keeping the secret as she herself had already 'purchased' him some gifts at the dollar store and hadn't mentioned them to him. (Now, I realize it's either because she's forgotten them or simply had no idea what she got him in the first place.)

About 20 minutes later, I hear her knock on the garage door to talk to her daddy (where he was busily working on his own Christmas surprise for us). She was going around with a little notepad and a pen, asking everyone what they wanted for Christmas, so she could send Santa 'our lists' and she didn't want to leave Daddy out of the game.

Hubby responds to her question with ''Clamps. Ask Mommy about them. She'll know the ones I mean.''

Yes, I do. The ones that were on sale in the Canadian Tire flyer this week. (Already bought two of them. No worries. A) He rarely reads my blog. B) He was with me and picked them out.)Naturally, Brooke comes back to me and says:

''Daddy says he wants clams...and seashells.''

Having overheard their conversation, I thought this was pretty funny and had to share it with him. So, I went back to the garage door and said:

''So you want clams and seashells, eh?''

Just then, Brooke pops out from behind me and says to Hubby, clapping excitedly ''Daddy, we just found a special cuppy to give to you for Christmas, but I can't talk to you about it because it's a secret.''

Hubby burst out laughing. ''Oh really?'' He looked up at me, his eyes twinkling merrily. She danced around, clapping.

''Yup! Mommy says it's a surprise.''

Geez, thanks Brooke.

An old Christmas card....

My tongue is dry from licking, my fingers are cramped from scribbling, but when I stack 'em up and flip through them, the sound of the thick little envelopes snapping together gives me great joy. Ah--the first wave of Christmas cards is complete! I've placed them on the hall table so Hubby will remember to drop them in the box tomorrow morning.

I know, I know. Christmas cards are dated. A lot of people don't bother to send them anymore, citing 'green' reasons or 'time constraints.' Others say they are too expensive to send and too time-consuming to make--especially when they end up in the recycling bin two weeks later. I get that.

Sure, mass e-mails or e-greetings are faster and simpler, more environmentally-conscious, but to me, they lack the personal touch, the thoughtfulness that stands behind the printed image of a cat curled up by a Christmas tree or a silvery skate pond stamped onto a beautiful piece of cardstock. It makes me all warm and fuzzy to think that someone sat down one evening, opened up a box of beautiful cards and thought of me. That the author paused for a moment and wondered what he or she would write to wish me well. That in a time of text messages and voice mail, the author picked up a favourite pen (y'know the one--the ballpoint with the ink flow that is just right) and jotted down a few words in his own sprawling hand.

Really, I'm all for being granola and budget-savvy, but I won't give up my Christmas cards without a fight.

Are you up for a little history lesson?

According to Wikipedia, English printer Sir Henry Cole was of an entrepreneurial mind. He was the first to commercialize greeting cards in London in 1843--three years after he had founded the Penny Post (which in turn made mail affordable to the common people). That first Christmas card depicted a family sitting down to a holiday dinner. And, although the card illicited a bit of scandal (since the illustration shows a small child drinking wine), the greeting card was a success--two printings for a total of 2,050 cards. Each elaborately printed little card was sold for a shilling, and the new trend was readily picked up by fashionable Londoners. The greeting card craze spread across England and Europe. The Victorian tradition arrived in North America 30 years later. And, if I have my way, it's one that will continue for years to come.

I have always loved cards. Well, to be honest, I love all writing things--stationery, pens of all colours, stickers and seals, little notecards or personalized post-its, highlighters and sharpies, spiral notebooks and loose-leaf paper. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a school supply fetish (September sales are hard for me to resist!) and I can't walk into a paper or card shop without having heart palpitations.

In fact, I am so in love with paper products that my considerate Hubby has even been known to drop $40 at Staples buying up half-price Hilroys and Bic pens, in an attempt to win Brownie points with me. It works. :)

But, Christmas cards....the lovely scenes, the embossed or gilded edges, the dusty shimmer of glitter, the meticulous sweep of water-colours, the heartfelt words, the hokey greetings....these are the gems of the greeting card crown. I love them. Always have.

Perhaps my love affair with them harkens back to my grandmother's farmhouse of the 1980s. With as large a family as she has, and with so many friends across the country and in the States, it seems like she is always receiving Christmas cards in the mail. And, when I was young and before she began wintering in Florida, she would hang them up all over the farmhouse.

They weren't just seated atop the mantle or buffet or tucked into a Christmas tree as some people are wont to do. No, she actually taped them along the doorways between the rooms and strung them up all the way around the window sashes. The kitchen and the hallway and the dining room. The living room and the parlour, too. All those cards lined up together, all those warm words greeting you every time you entered a room. It was beautiful to look at, and every year, I was enchanted by the sight.

I would spend hours looking at each card, reading the notes, wondering who all these people were. Either Grandma got a lot of cards each year or she kept every one she ever received and pulled them all out each year to use as part of her Christmas décor.

But it's not just the images and words that I love. I love every aspect of the card--from the snowflake or angel stamps to the foil-lined, colourful envelopes.

I love the eager walk down the driveway to the mailbox each day. The anticipation of a raised red flag. The excitement of seeing a candy-cane striped corner or a handwritten scrawl peeping from underneath the bills and advertisements. A letter, a postcard, an invitation to a party. It's a rare form of mail these days and I love it.

Really and truly. Mail like this, Christmas mail, always delights me.

Sometimes, I can barely contain myself and rip into the envelope right there in the road. Other times, I try to savour the moment. I carry it back home, my eyes glued to the handwriting. Trying to decipher who sent it, what message it could contain. A family photo, perhaps? A Christmas newsletter? A missive from Santa?

And, if it's addressed to the girls, well.... I never open it without Brooke, but oy vey--the waiting kills me!

And, if I should receive more than one card that day? Sheer exhileration! It becomes one of the day's most notable events and I bubble over in sharing the news with Hubby or my sister. No one else seems to care much, but for me, it's very exciting. And rest assured, that the card is proudly displayed for all to see.

My love for mail--real mail--is well known. Hubby has commented to me on more than one occasion that I should work for Canada Post, as he has never known anyone to enjoy getting the mail so much as me.

One year, during a particularly barren and disappointing Christmas card haul, my Hubby started sending me Christmas cards from work, just so I would have something in the mailbox to read. It was one of the sweetest things he has ever done for me, and my eyes filled with tears at his thoughtfulness.

So, to say the least, my Christmas card business is a chore I enjoy. In fact, it's not really a chore. Sure, sitting down and scribbling for hours on end can mean a lot of work. But it's a tradition--and one that I love.

Tonight, I settled down on the sofa before a roaring fire with my pen, my list and my address book. I opened up my Christmas card box that I hauled out of my office last week. (Tangent: I wish I could say that there was some great Christmas carols playing in the background, but Hubby was watching football, so I was listening to NFL commentary, instead.)

The box is a big Rubbermaid bin, full of Christmas cards and envelopes, pens and stickers, rubber stamps and seals. (I tend to buy my cards at Boxing Day sales the year before and always buy waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than I need.) I sorted through the old cards, found the news one I planned on using this year, made sure I had extra envelopes for screw-ups and got down to business.

But not before I thumbed through my old cards.

You see, dear readers, I have never thrown out a Christmas card. Nor has any card ever made its way into my recycling bin. At least, not intentionally and not since I moved out of my mother's house.

For years, I too, taped the cards collected each year around the doorways and stairwells of our apartments, and then, our first home. So, if you've sent me a card in the past and worried what became of it, fear not. I still have it.

After I've displayed it for the season, I take down each card, carefully stack it with the others of that year, wrap them together with a rubber band and put the little bundle in my card box.

And, every year, I pull out the little bundle and go through the cards again. I admire the pictures, I read the words, I examine the photos. I remember friends far and near, friends old and new, friends long gone but never forgotten. And, every year, I admonish myself for keeping these cherished cards in my stationery box, instead of their rightful place among my keepsakes.

One day, I really will get around to scrapbooking them, giving each card a permanent home in a beautiful book that will sit on my coffee table. A holiday book that guests will be able to peruse and enjoy as I do each year. One day. But for now, it's enough for me to flip through the bundle of cards and smile at the thought of all of you, thinking of me.

P.S. I received the first card of the season last Thursday. Thank you, Brisson Family. I can't believe how big Alexandria and Charlotte have gotten. They are beautiful!!

The Activity Advent Calendar

I am all about making new family traditions. I feel, that when you become a parent, that it's part of your duty to create these ties that connect your children both to your family and to their heritage--and what better way than to create a tradition that the kids will cherish for years to come?

When her first son was born, my sister started the tradition of Christmas pyjamas. The kids all get new jammies on Christmas Eve, that they wear to bed that evening. When Brooke was born, I started the tradition of Christmas books. I add at least one to my collection every year. Brooke and I try to read one every evening during the Christmas season.

This year, I decided to adopt a new tradition in honour of Avie--it's a concept I read about on another blog. Basically, I've created an Activity Advent Calendar for the girls this year. Yes, B still has her chocolate calendar, but this year, I also decided to do something simple, but special, with the girls every day up until Christmas Eve.

I purchased two little treat buckets from WalMart (a buck each, notch!) to hang from the girls' doorknobs. The plan is that every day I will put in a chocolate treat (bag of foil-wrapped chocolates courtesy of Dollarama) and a hint as to what special Christmasy thing we are going to do that day.

For the most part, the activities are holiday things we have to do anyways--go pick up and decorate a Christmas tree, send out our Christmas cards, attend Christmas parties, wrap presents, etc. Other activities are just plain good fun: make Christmas ornaments, make our own gift wrap, create Christmas 'pizzas' for the birds, build a snowman (gotta wait for the snow on that one!), go for a sled ride, check out the Christmas lights on the Hill, etc.

I received some other great suggestions from friends, such as making popcorn garlands, building a gingerbread house, purchasing a gift for the Angel Tree at WalMart or dressing up for family dinner (think tiaras and meatloaf). And, I'm thinking of an impromptu Christmas dance contest, too, as well as a Christmas TV movie marathon. Other ideas I've come up with: making stockings for CHEO's kids (got the idea from last year's Christmas Day visit to the ER), eating breakfast for dinner (who doesn't like that?), and baking cookies for the nurses at the Medical Day Unit.

Anyways, yesterday I gave Brooke the buckets and explained what we were going to do with them. She was very excited to hang them up on the doorknobs. Didn't want the one I chose for and switched with Avie, but all's good. She hung them up last night while I was out Christmas shopping with Jax. When I got home, I went to put in her treat and clue and found the bucket hanging on the inside of her door. Cuckoo bird. Love that kid.

She completely forgot about the bucket this morning, so didn't notice the treat until I mentioned it to her. She was so excited. She looked at the photo I had printed off as her clue for what today's activity was and her face lit up.

"Look, Mom. It's a mission! It says 'Dear Princess Brooke, I can't wait to see you.' '' (It said nothing of the kind, as she is just three and cannot read anything beyond her own name. Besides, why would I write that? Still, very amusing to overhear her 'reading' her 'mission.')

What, in fact, was the photo? Well, it was a humdinger of an activity, and as Hubby noted, might be setting the bar a little high for Day 1 of the Advent, but I couldn't help it!

It was a photo from The Nutcracker Ballet, which will be performing tonight at the National Arts Centre. We received the tickets as part of the NAC's Share the Spirit program, which offers tickets for holiday events free of charge to families with sick children or families who cannot afford such luxuries.

The back story on the Nutcracker? It has always been my dream and that of my sister to one day take our daughters to that show. We've both seen it as girls (and I've seen it as an adult too!) and remember it as a very special event in our lives. It was the first time either of us got dressed up and went 'out' for an evening. The first time we got to hold our very own tickets and do something so 'grown-up' (even if the story is for children!) as attend a ballet performance. It was very special for us and we wanted it to be very special for our girls.

Jackie and I have been envisioning the night for years now, long before our daughters were born: we'd dress the girls up in fancy Christmas dresses and go for a special dinner, then to show where we would all be enchanted by the magic of this timeless story, the sparkly over-the-top costumes and scenery, the incredible music and cherography.

The Nutcracker dream is an important tradition we wanted to share with our girls. Months ago, we even considered taking the girls this year. (Grace just started ballet, so she is particularly 'into' the Nutcracker at the moment and Brooke is still enthralled with anything magical, princessy and fairy-like.) But, after checking out the prices for the event and considering schedules, we decided against it. Maybe the girls are still too young to fully appreciate a full-feature ballet, we thought. They might get bored and want to leave, they might fall asleep 10 minutes into the show--and at $60 a pop for a children's ticket, it might be better to wait a bit.

Then, last week, I received an e-mail from Tamsin, the program co-ordinator at Candlelighters. They had received a number of tickets to select holiday shows at the NAC and were offering them to any member family wishing to attend. At first, I hummed and hawed, was Brooke still too young? Was she too sick to attend? Would she enjoy it?

She has an incredible attention span for movies, so Hubby thinks she could handle it. I agreed, and after hearing that her numbers had gone back up this week, I decided to check with Tamsin to see if there were any tickets for opening night left. Sure enough, there was! Enough for Jax and Gracie to join us, in fact! Awesome!!!

I am so excited for tonight--and B is elated with the thought of seeing the show. The photo was a great idea on my part (pat your own back, Ginger) and B has been carrying it folded in her basket all morning.

Now, the only hitch tonight will be whether or not Jax and Grace will be attending. (Grace was not feeling well yesterday, so it is touch and go today. Jax doesn't want to chance Grace near Brooke, even if her numbers are high this week. She did just have chemo on Monday. So, perhaps Jax will come alone or take one of the boys.)

And, as for the Activity Advent Calendar? So far, so good. (Although B was a little disappointed that there were no chocolate treats in Avie's bucket for her to ''eat for my sister cause she's too little for chocolate--hey, Avie has nothing in her bucket!'' Note to self tomorrow: Put in Baby MumMums for Aviecakes.)