Flight delayed. Home late. Tired boy. Cranky girl. Exhausted parents.

Introspection can wait until next year.

Happy new year!

Reflections

I'd like to sit back and reflect on the year and ponder the next, but I am still visiting and do not want to take the time right now. Anyway it's hard for me to reflect in a crowd. But I sit here in front of the big window watching the sun rise and reflect and glint on the snow. It's pretty. But I cannot wait to be home.

Sent from my iPad

Winter wonderland

We are ensconced in Canada's prairies for a visit, where it's -15 and snowing. This is, for the record, colder than it ever got in my hometown growing up, so the very idea of it being this cold -- as the HIGH of the day -- is NUTS! I mean, it's down close to -30 at night. For those of you who don't know, this means several things, like cars don't start. Toilet seats -- indoors! -- are cold. Furnaces aren't quite enough heat. The air inside is cold. I have finally realized why people buy wipes warmers. My daughter is quite angry with her diaper changes of late.

But the worst for me is that I wake up each morning here feeling like I've been slowly dried over night. My nose and throat hurt from the lack of humidity and I have to drink all day to feel remotely ok.

The feeling of alienation is compounded by the fact that we're way out in a rural area -- the nearest neighbour is walkable, but cannot be seen. And all around as far as the eye can see? Trees. Snow. It's silent and dark at night. It's now been a dozen years that I've lived in cities of over a million people, and this remoteness is very foreign. They don't even have broadband, people! This post brought to you by the miracle of cell phones and Internet tethering.

It's good to see family. It's good to experience the true Canadian winter. Its good to get away. But I will not in the least be sad to get home to good old rainy Vancouver, where my nose can feel at home.

Sent from my iPad

Eve

The stockings are filled, the tree is lit and underneath is laden with packages. The children sleep. In the kitchen are all our favourite things to eat.

For me, a non-practicing Christian, this holiday is about family, friends, and taking the time to slow down and show them love. Which in a way I suppose rings true with what many Christians believe. All I mean to say is forgive me for saying so, but Merry Christmas. In the spirit in which I mean it, it's just about saying thanks for being a friend, and my best wishes to you and yours.

On the other hand ...

While snowfall warnings here can be laughable, I do heed the rainfall ones. We do know rain in Vancouver.

No this is not what it is like all the time.

The laundry, it never stops

Nor do the dishes. Nor the tidying. My heavens there's a lot of work in a home. I'm sitting down right now, I probably shouldn't. But my son is out with his dad and my daughter is content and I've scrubbed the kitchen, put away the laundry, thrown in some more, packed up the daycare laundry that I did yesterday, tidied the toys, booked my son's birthday party (yet again, Vancouver, you win for "you must plan ahead to get anything good". Yes his birthday is in March.), paid some bills, filled out his forms for school registration and so now I'm sitting.

I'll get up again in a second. The laundry will be done soon.

There's a lot of work.

But. There's always a but. My family gives me joy. And the entirety of the package is a good one.

Words that make a mother's hair stand on end especially right before Christmas and all those photos

"Mom, I just cut my hair a little before I washed my hands."

Dear Daughter's Upper Front Teeth,

Re: Cease and Desist Order

I realize that with the advent of Christmas, and the knowledge that there will be cookies! and chocolate! and turkey! and cupcakes! and candy canes! and goodness only knows what, you are eager -- all FOUR OF YOU -- to come through at once. But please don't. You may not have noticed, but it makes The Girl not sleep. And she is cranky. You hurt.

And if you hadn't noticed SHE DOESN'T EAT ANYTHING ANYWAY.

So: my Christmas gift? NOT THE TWO FRONT TEETH.

The first Christmas Concert

Yesterday evening was the annual holiday potluck at The Boy's daycare, so I prepared a green salad (God knows I'm no cook, so green salad was about my limit. Don't want to poison the populace at Christmas.) and took The Girl and off we went.

It was the usual mayhem. In a nice way, but a space that is usually crazy and overwhelming with 24 kids is CRAZY with 24 kids, their parents, and their siblings. There was plenty of food, much of it was good, and The Boy ate some which is even more of a miracle. I chatted with parents, watched my son, nursed my daughter and then ...

Then they pulled all the kids together. And they sang. And my little boy sat in the front row with one of his special friends glued to one side, and another glued to the other, and they sang beautiful Christmas carols that they had been rehearsing -- and the dreidel song, because they don't want to exclude anyone! -- and I held up my camera and thought I'm going to remember this moment. I'm at my little boy's first Christmas concert.

I must admit I got kind of teary.

And then Santa came and the kids were pretty much peeing themselves with awesomeness and the crazy was pretty incredible and I won't even describe how nutty it was to try and corral my own two children into the car on my own while all the other parents were trying to do the same thing but Oh! ... Oh it was so sweet to see his little self singing his heart out for Christmas.

Mischief

My son has a new friend at daycare.

Or perhaps in place of "friend" I should use the term "co-conspirator" or "accessory to insanity".

My first glimpse of this child was that he was a lovely boy, quiet and contemplative. And thus, I thought he was likely too quiet for my rakehell of a son.

Not so much, it seems. They are each other's favourite person now. It's hard to tear them apart at the daycare. They are thrilled to see each other and sad to say goodbye. And there is much madness between them.

A few days ago, the boy's mom, whom I don't know well, emailed and asked for a playdate. I eagerly said sure, that sounds fun -- always nice to have another play friend. And maybe a new mom friend as well, who knows? She seemed nice.

I should have been warned when she said, as we were arranging it, that she hadn't done playdates in a year or more because her son was "too wild."

This morning my kid decided he didn't want to go. It took much cajoling and discussion and more discussion after that to convince him it would be a good idea. I also had to stay. Which is fine, I wasn't planning on just dropping him off.

At first the boys were at loose ends. Kinda running about wildly. Kinda crazy. Kinda looking for something appropriate to do together.

And then they found it. It was quiet. It was TOO quiet. But given the craziness before, she and I were inclined to let them play. We chatted. Our daughters (only about a year apart) eyed each other.

We made lunch. We called the boys. They didn't want to come. We shrugged it off. Meh. They can eat or not eat, whatever.

And then they came downstairs. And I noticed a tell-tale small brown smudge around my kid's mouth. I asked what he had eaten. I wasn't mad. I just asked. He dodged eye contact. "I don't want to tell you." he said.

I looked at the other mom. She would likely know what was in her kid's room. She looked puzzled.

And then we noticed that the advent calendar, previously in the living room, was gone.

The chocolate-filled advent calendar.

For the first time in my life, I ended a playdate with an offer to monetarily recompense her for my son's damage.

Sigh.

Good Things

Think I need an attitude readjustment today, so instead of even saying why (and thus dwelling on negative things), let's recap the good stuff!

1. My family. My Man, my Boy and my Girl. All wonderful and adorable and lovely and the best part of my life.

2. The Christmas tree. And the fact that my son was SO excited to get it and decorate it this year. It was awesome. He's SO into Christmas this year, which is so fun. If a bit tiring!

3. My Girl, moving around the house. Not crawling, but getting around despite that.

4. My Girl, who bops to music if I do. It's SO CUTE.

5. My Boy, for forgiving me for an outburst of anger this morning when I said I was sorry and telling me I was a good mom.

6. My cozy home. It's way too small, but it's ours and it's warm and cozy and wonderful.

7. The fact that our Christmas pictures turned out ok and I don't look too bad for a 36 year old mom of two who is still carrying around baby weight.

8. My neighbour is having her baby girl! Today! And then she'll have two under two! Yes, she might be nuts.

9. Modern appliances. I don't have to wash all the dishes, I just have to unload and reload. Thank God.

10. The Man's "Christmas bonus": A new 3G iPad that's sitting in our bedroom right now. Whee! Man those things are fun. Of course once the four year old finds it we'll never see it again. Heh.

In previous years, I have lamented -- to myself -- that Vancouver radio stations don't play enough Christmas music. I am a sucker for Christmas music, and the date I listen to it gets earlier and earlier every year. It's kinda sad really.

But this year? TWO Vancouver radio stations have been playing ALL CHRISTMAS ALL THE TIME but alas this has failed to fill me with joy and has instead illustrated for me the sheer volume of REALLY CRAPPY CHRISTMAS MUSIC.

Also, it's very hard to explain to your four year old who listens to all the carols and can discern all the words why there's a breathy lady on the radio singing to "Santa Baby".

Family politics

So if one were, hypothetically, having a big bash for one's father's 70th birthday ... And one knew there were some estranged family members he would love to see, but whose presence would bring up some definite ugliness from the past for someone else (another guest) would one invite them?

Let's also say for the sake of argument that one thinks the family member this concerns and who is coming is being a total wanker about things and needs to grow the f up already, and that the estranged members have nothing to be ashamed of.

Yeah. Sigh.

Helllooooo December!!

Please excuse this morning. I am on day seven of less-sleep-than-optimal -- one night it's the cat, the next the preschooler, the next the baby, and so on, so much so that it's starting to get comical. You know you're tired when your lack of sleep makes you giggle. And then forget what you were laughing about.

A few days ago, celebrating the beginning of the month of Christmas, we started the extravaganza of presents and brought out this year's entirely over-the-top Advent Calendar. Some of you may remember last year's quirky gift. Which gave us Frank the Christmas Janitor and the Christmas chainsaw which later made a reappearance in a truly horrifying gift. So all in all -- quite the Christmas success!

This year we switched allegiances from the big Danish toy firm for Playmobil, toy whores that we are. I know, I know. Last year I said this was it, the only year we'd cater to excess in advent calendaring, insisting that I'd be more circumspect when we had two. I failed to recognize that 2010 me would justify another purchase based on not getting one for the seven month old baby. So I will accustom my son to glorious excess and then crush his little spirit next year when all he gets is a tiny and not terribly good candy cane.

So! Moving on!

This is what came as a calendar. They have several varieties, but we of course chose the one with the most possible mayhem in the spirit of the season. Swords! Dragons! Projectile weapons! Just like the Baby Jesus would have wanted.

It came with a cute little diorama.

And December 1st brought us our hero, the intrepid knight. On a quest to find out who gave him that terrible hairdo. Also, holding an imaginary newspaper.

On the second day of Christmas, our true love gave to us ...

some wings. Because of course every good knight needs a pair of ... wings.

(Wings! W.T.F.???!!)

This morning he was given some useful knightly things. A dagger in his belt. A sword! With rubies! And a helmet to cover the hair nastiness.

He's outfitted for adventure. What possible surprises could that terrible box hold that he need such weaponry? I suppose we'll soon see ...