A BeachMama Christmas

A Belated Very Merry Christmas to all my readers. The holidays have been very hectic here chez Beachmama, but I assure you the New Year will bring us back to our regularly scheduled programming. In addition to getting back to posting I look forward to the long awaited release of my new site. It is this close (see finger pinching) to launch I was just too busy to finish up the last few things I have to do before going live.

Santa was a huge hit here. He ate all the cookies, took the carrots for the reindeer and left a lovely letter for J who listened intently when it was read to him. He had a few questions like, "the elves didn't make the Lego did they, they just bought them at the store?" My quick response was that toy factories had elves working there to help Santa out.

Having Opa here with us was wonderful. We don't get the opportunity often enough to share holidays with him, so it was truly a wonderful Christmas morning.

Onward to the evening. I just had to share some of my favourites from the evening of my first ever Christmas dinner. I decided last minute to let everyone serve themselves as I did not leave room on the table for the dishes and the meat platter alone is 10lbs. Although making the dinner was a tad stressful due to a long breakfast in the morning, I will definitely offer again next year as the lack of stress on my Mom's face was worth it. The line up for food warmed my heart as there was no shortage in willing eaters here.
Here is a photo of my Sister's and my Mom. The two on the right (black and red dresses) are the ones in Regina and Charlotte, the one beside me lives here. Can you tell we are Sisters??
Here is my Christmas table, which I had to make longer with an additional table and the way our family is growing I will want to invest in a larger table at some point. This one is my Grandmother's from many moons ago. It folds up into a little side table if your space is small. Which was my dilema until we moved here. I do pull out the good china, I love using it and decorating the table. Opa and Dad are chatting it up down at the head of the table. They get along so well and we are very pleased about that as it makes holidays together much easier.And last of all little Apple. She did very well all through dinner swinging away in her Retro swing and fancy party dress. Even when it was time to go to bed she would hear Opa playing with her two littlest cousins and her eyes would pop open, but she was truly tired and finally gave up the ghost and fell asleep and went right on through until 2:30am, almost six hours two nights in a row, it was awesome for me.

I hope to post a little this week but fear that the chaos will still reign in BeachMama's house. I may just have to request a little alone time with me and my computer. Another week to go with a full house, could be a little tricky.

Thank you all for stopping by my little place by the beach. I have really enjoyed getting to know a few new readers this year and I am thankful for all of you that stop and leave notes to me. You all have truly helped to keep me sane this past year waiting for Apple to arrive and getting through the first little bit of school.

I look forward to what lays ahead in 2008!

Bullets to tie you over

So much going on and I have only had one hand free for what feels like two days.

Here is a brief bulleted list of how much fun we have been having. Photos will follow in a day or two:

• Room number two is ready in the basement and after a summer of construction and a month of drywall dust we moved into it on Sunday. It is supposed to be the workout room, but will temporarily be the family room. Can I say how much I love having a finished room in the basement for J to play? He loves it too!
• My ornament from the Ornament Exchange over at An Island Life arrived and it is oh so gorgeous. I say it but I should say they. I took a photo of them on the table but they really should be shown off on the tree, which will be here in minutes and decorated tomorrow night, so stay tuned.
• Cookies are feverishly being baked.
• Knitting needles are being worked at every odd moment.
• And the sewing machine is still in use.
• Wrapping needs to start as J is starting to open odd closets and asking questions about bags.
• Big Sis and her kidlets arrive on Saturday and Opa arrives on Tuesday. The holidays are upon us!

Yes, BeachMama, there is a Santa Clause

This morning I am thinking of Virginia O'Hanlon and her letter to Santa.

Yesterday, we had our visit with Santa and it was great. J really truly believes this year and it may just be the only year. We waited our turn and by the time we got to Santa J was so nervous he started saying "I don't think this is such a good idea". So I told him we just needed a photo for Opa and that he didn't even have to talk to Santa. He wanted Apple to go with him and thankfully she woke up for it. You can see the results of the photo below. Not the best one, but alas we still have a photo for the book.
This particular Santa was fantastic. So much so, that I want to go back and Thank him again for being so great. After the photo was done, he took some time to talk to J and make him feel comfortable. Despite the line up behind us. When I expressed my concern over waiting people he just said, " That's ok, that is part of getting to see me, waiting in line". By the time we left, J was so happy that Santa took the time to talk to him, he practically danced his way through the mall for the rest of our shopping trip. I love Santa.

Growing up my parents made it very clear from an early age that there was no Santa. I don't even know for sure if we ever sat on Santa's lap. It was part of being a Christian for my parents, either you believed in Jesus or Santa and that was it. But, my older Sister and I secretly hoped and believed that Santa was real. We would still leave cookies out, we would still wait up in hopes of seeing him. We believed in the spirit of Santa.

Today, I still believe.

Yes folks, I BeachMama, still believe in Santa.

There I said it. I know that a real person does not come down my gas fireplace chimney and leave gifts made by elves. I know that because I do all the work. But, I still believe in the spirit of Santa. I believe that there is a little Santa in all of us and when I tell J the story of Baby Jesus and that we are celebrating his birthday, I also tell him the story of St. Nicolas and how he left gifts for children who didn't have anything. I tell him that Santa will leave a few gifts and that other family members will leave some too, just like the Wise Men brought gifts for the new Baby. I want my son to love the idea of Santa and to look back and remember that he did believe even if it was for just a few years.

We are going to my younger Sister's house today and her son, J2, does not believe. And goes around telling other children that Santa does not exist. I had to have a discussion with J today about this and let him know that we all have different beliefs. Hubby says that if they argue about it I should just leave. But, I told J not to talk about Santa to J2. I feel sad for my little nephew because he will not have the same joy that a lot of other children have about Santa. I only hope that the kids in his class don't go home crying because he keeps telling them that there is no Santa.


Do you believe?

Catching up is hard to do

Where to begin?

We had so much snow, well 'so much' is a relative term. Since we had so little last year and we like to forget what it is like to have a lot of snow, I feel like we really got dumped on this week.

Hubby's bus didn't even come Monday morning. J had a combined class because teachers couldn't make it in and I pulled him home on a toboggan. That is how much snow we got in one day. And what to do when there is so much snow?

Bake, play in it, and keep the baby in the house. J is dressed for baking in the photo above. I have been working on the cookies that I am baking for Hubby's employees at work. I did this last year, but found out the night we stuffed the boxes that 400 weren't enough. So I baked approximately 400 cookies in one night to fill them. This year I already have 400 in the freezer, with plans for another 400-600 more. We are filling the boxes with cookies and chocolate this year. And I tried out a new recipe, spice cookies drizzled with chocolate. They just sound so yummy, that I had to try them. I am also going to do a Vanilla bean sugar cookie tomorrow and see how they taste too. And you know what if I don't like them, that is ok because they will be baked and out of the house within a few days.
See these guys? Yes, these two furry snow like dogs? Yeah, well they are not so snow loving. They go in and out so many times that it drives me batty. They seem to only stay out when it is 35 degrees above freezing or 35 degrees below freezing. They stand there at the door and knock and knock and knock until you let them back in. J was even out there wanting to play with them but noooo they knocked and knocked until I let them back in. Crazy dogs.
And poor Santa. For a while he was hanging off the side of the roof, but for some reason he got tired and had to lay down for a while. He has been like this for two days now. Hope he will be alright in time for Christmas.

I posted a few more photos in flickr. I have been busy trying to finish all the handmade presents. I am almost done all the sewing ones. But, had to stop so I could put together the Christmas cards. They are almost ready to be mailed. Then I have a few things to make together with J, so I need to do them on the weekend when Hubby can watch Apple for me, so I don't have to pick her up while working with glue. It's a busy time here chez BeachMama, but I love every minute of it.

Just a few more days until December

I hadn't realized how much the writing a post every day was sucking the life out of me. Not that I don't love writing every day, but forcing myself to write a post every day was a lot harder than I thought. It wasn't until I was sick and missed my post that I got my time back. And truthfuly we haven't been doing anything fun. Last week was pretty much getting better and the weekend was cleaning and painting. Yes, painting! I got Hubby to finish the paint job in the hallway he started last year. I didn't want to decorate for Christmas until it was done.

And speaking of done, I am almost finished my handmade Christmas presents. Another reason it was a good thing to not tie myself to the computer everyday. I actually got some stuff done when Apple went to bed. Of course, now I will have to spend a few hours catching up, but it was worth it.

With only a few more days left until December, I have a few things I need to check off my list. Holiday cards and cookies. I must get started on my cookies. Last year I baked for Hubby for his employees and apparently the request is in again. This year since I know I how many I will need, I won't be baking 400 cookies in one night to be packaged and brought to work the next day (I needed 800 cookies and I only had 400, the boxes were a lot bigger than I thought when I started). I also made sure that the treadmill was free and clear for me to use because baking means eating and I must be able to get a workout in when the cookies start, must, must, must.

I hope everyone has recovered from Thanksgiving and holiday shopping. I hope to dig out my camera today as Apple is 12 weeks old today!! Ack! Where did the last three months go???

Another Santa Parade?

But, with no photos today (this one is from yesterday). We headed out to the mall today. I know, I know you are asking, "what were you thinking?". Apparently I wasn't. Usually if you go to the mall first thing in the morning on a Sunday you miss all the crowds. But, not today.

The first shocking thing was that there was a huge line up to see Santa already and he wasn't even at the Village. Hubby and I did a few stores and headed up to one more on the third floor. There was a huge crowd of people at the entrance to the mall. Kids were everywhere, there were risers for them to sit and watch. We could barely get through. Finally, Hubby asked another Dad what was going on. He looked at us strangely and said, "Santa of course, there is a parade today".

We decided to wait and watch instead of trying to break through the crowds to get to the store. It was cute. There were clowns, elves (kids from a dance school) and mascots from sports teams. After waving to Santa we went on our way. Little did we know that Santa's Parade went around each of the three floors of the mall, singing and dancing.

By the time we stopped for lunch and headed out, Santa was just arriving at the Village. I could not believe it. There were parents that had been waiting for two hours with their kids all dressed up to get their photos with Santa. No wonder there are so many stories of kids crying and not wanting to have their photos taken. They are exhausted people! Just do what I do and get to the Mall first thing in the morning on a Tuesday. There is nobody there and you just walk up, chat with Santa and get your photo taken. Tada. We will be doing that another day.

On a good note we knocked off a couple of J's presents today, it was quick and painless and he was none the wiser.

A Parade to Start the Season

Today was pretty much the perfect day for a Parade. We have a birthday party tonight so we won't be able to attend our local parade (Barrhaven Lions Parade), so we went to the next best thing. The parade in the next major subdivision (Kanata Parade). We could have braved the crowds and headed to the Downtown Ottawa Parade, but we wanted a happy time, not a frustrated time. As it was there were enough 'Jacks' in the parking lot taking too many spaces or parking crooked so that others left nasty notes on their windshield. But alas, twas not us, so let's forget about those guys.

We did leave a little later than we had wanted too so we were at the end of the parade route instead of the beginning. Being at the beginning is fun as all the people in the parade are still warm and all geared up. Being at the end means they can hardly move they are so cold and they are all Christmas'd out. Either way J had a wonderful time, Apple slept on and off througout and Hubby and I sang along and danced with the crowds (ok we swayed more than danced, but it was still moving).

The only thing missing from the Parade today was that I forgot to pack some hot chocolate. Otherwise it was perfect. The tooth fairy even made an appearance and handed out toothbrushes! And Santa was a Jolly Fella right up until they dropped him at the Mall to start taking photos with all the kids inside. He is going to be one busy guy today.

Thanks for waving for me Santa! We wish you a Merry start to the Holiday Season.

Ideas Please

In the spirit of my homemade Christmas I think I have everybody figured out except the boys (ok, Men).

Here is my list of stuff so far that I am making and hopefully my Sister's aren't lurking in the shadows. And if they are they just won't be as surprised as I would like. This is random and some is for the kids and some is for the adults.

1. Aprons
2. Fridge Magnets
3. Laptop Sleeves (ok the kids don't have laptops so, there you go)
4. Hats

I am stuck for the Guys. After all these years (it's been 8 that we have all been together) I am drawing blanks at what to get or do for the guys. It used to be so easy when they didn't have garages full of tools. Even more so that I am trying to make stuff homemade. If anybody has any wonderful ideas please pass them along. If not, I may have to make purchases for these guys.

Nine Weeks

Today we hit our nine week mark. And I still can't believe it has only been nine weeks. At nine weeks pregnant I was feeling very ill and still nervous about losing another baby. And now here we are laughing and playing and having lots of fun.

J has also really changed towards Apple. He loves that he can make her laugh. He takes care of her (most of the time) in the back seat when she is really unhappy. And most of all he seems to have taken on the duty of the dogs. He lets them out, gets them treats and feeds them. I only hope this continues as he gets older and can start taking them for walks.
My girlfriend dropped this playmat off for Apple on Sunday. And as much as J did not like playmats, Apple loves them. She lay there for at least a half an hour on Sunday, another half an hour last night and she did it again tonight. It arrived at just the right moment in her development. She is starting to knock the dangling things in her playpen so this was like candy for her. Lots of danglies (not a word I am sure) to enjoy and play with . She is also trying to grab things lately so I am sure she will be grabbing onto them all in no time flat. Thanks Northern Mom just the right time for you to stop by.

Today was another gorgeous Fall day. Hubby had to go to the dentist this morning and I had to drive him. I was thinking I would cruise the stores in the little mall while he was being taken care of, not realizing that most stores opened at 9 or 10am. His appointment was at 8:30am. I sat in the car for a few minutes with a sleeping Apple wondering what on earth I was going to do. Duh. Go for a walk.

I could not believe that I sat there wondering what to do when there was this perfectly beautiful day waiting for us. I was only disappointed I did not have my camera with me. We took a path that led through the forest, where most of the leaves have dropped, once we reached the creek we turned around and headed back. I did take photos with my phone, but have no idea how to get them out and into the computer. If I do ever figure it out I will post them. Anyhow, a half hour later with flushed cheeks and feeling refreshed from the Fall sun and crisp air we picked up Hubby and dropped him off for work.

With the forecast of rain and possible snow tonight I was so thankful we took that walk. Not that we won't have the opportunity to do it again with beautiful days, it is just that our beautiful days will be a little whiter and different in nature.

With the forecast of snow, I am feeling itchy about Christmas. It will be here before I know it. Did I mention I am hosting Christmas Dinner this year? It is a first in our family. My Mom is the only one to ever make Christmas Dinner. Not that there is any pressure or anything.

The Blue Goose, and other tales from the last few days

My youngest Sister arrived last Saturday night from Charlotte, North Carolina in "The Blue Goose". It is a fifteen seat passenger van. The group she works for has several of these vans and allowed her to bring one home so she could move the rest of her stuff back down to Charlotte. On one hand it is great, on the other it is sad to realize that she is moving down there and chances of her moving back home here are slim, very slim. All the vans have been given names and this one is The Blue Goose, there is also the Ox and the Feather, I think. Younger Sister's dream was to pile all us girls and the kids and Mom into the Goose for a trip to the Market on Friday morning. Not only did all the kids and their car seats fit (you can't see two of the kids hiding and the two front seats in the photo) but all us girls fit too. If the back row had been in we could have included all the boys too, but that would have been just a little too crazy and we would not have had room for all the strollers. We set off for a morning on the market, but we didn't realize that it was going to be cold. The wind chill was crazy, at least crazy considering how warm it was the day before. So we walked around for two minutes then headed into a restaurant for lunch. The poor waitress at "Zak's" did not know what hit her. There was eleven of us in total and we took up two rather large booths. For us it worked out perfectly as Youngest and childless sister sat with all the kids and let us grown up Sister's sit with Mom and eat our food. It was great.

After lunch we went for a quick tour of the Rideau Center and I would like to appologize to Tania Albert (in case you google yourself). I know we haven't seen each other since probobly high school, but I was racing through the crowds to rejoin the other nine people waiting for me to direct them back to the van with as little difficulty as possible. I hope my sincere "Merry Christmas" and huge smile was enough to let you know I was thrilled to see you. But, to weave through the hundreds of people to get to you while the rest of the family was waiting for me and wondering why I wasn't on the elevator (I took the stroller on the escalator!) was going to be very difficult. I hope that the next time we run into each other I have time to stop and chat properly.

The rest of the day had us navigating the Blue Goose through the downtown, now busy streets to get us home. As much as my Mom gave my sister a hard time, she did a great job getting us around in the Goose and it will be a tale we will tell for years to come. And now our Blue van has been rechristened the Blue Pigeon (as it is much smaller than the Goose).

Saturday saw us hit a few stores, very early in order to avoid the rush. We also remembered that the Pigeon, which my father has been driving needed to be E-tested and licenced as it was Hubby's birthday. So off we went to the garage with the Pigeon (which did not pass by the way and I have said that it wouldn't since September, but alas, I may be driving Dad to work next week). Then we had a small party for Hubby who is now 39. 39 you say, WOW! Yes, wow indeed, even better that he thought he was turning 40 this year, so he gained back a year of his life, whoot whooot!! It was just family, minus one Brother-in-Law who wasn't feeling well, but it was lots of fun. Us adults even got to sit in the 'good' living room while the kids played in the family room. Finally after two years we had a gathering where people migrated to the other living room, it was all worth it.

And now here we are on Christmas Eve. Hubby is driving A to his other Grandparents, we had Christmas this morning with J & A and will have Christmas with my family tomorrow at my Mom's. I feel blessed as I received a video camera, after all my tears last week, Hubby knew just what I needed to keep the memories alive. He also threw in a few other treats to help my writing career two books on writing, that I know will be put to great use after Christmas. J loved that Santa came early so A could be part of the fun. Tomorrow will be the big day with all his cousins. I look forward to it.

Then, the Blue Goose will be taking flight early Boxing Day morning, so I will have to say good-bye to youngest Sister and enjoy the rest of the week with Oldest Sister. Us two middle Sister's are trying to soak in as much of them as we can. Many a photo has been taken, and now to add video to the mix will just make me cry all the time.

To all my bloggy friends and visitors, may you all have a wonderful Christmas, may you relish in the time with your family and may all your wishes come true. Ours certainly have here.

Merry Christmas.

Rumprints

An anonymous commentor asked for a cookie recipe and always one up for a challenge, here you go. I don't have a photo for this one, but it has been a favourite since I was a little girl, probobly because of the rum. I will post a photo when I make some this weekend.

2/3c. Margarine
1/3c. Sugar
1 Egg
1tsp Vanilla
1/4tsp Salt
1 3/4c. Flour
1/2tsp Nutmeg
1c. Powdered sugar
1tbsp Rum (or milk & 1/4 tsp rum extract)
Ground Nutmeg

-Beat margarine until soft. Add sugar and beat till fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, salt beat well. Add four and 1/2 tsp nutmeg. Beat until well mixed. Cover and chill 1 hour.
-Shape into balls. Place 2" apart on baking sheet. Press down centres with thumb. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.
-In a small bowl mix 1/4c. margarine and powdered sugar beat until fluffy. Add rum, beat well.
-Pipe 1/2tsp. per cooke. Sprinkle with nutmeg. I like to top it with a silver ball for fun.

Paying it forward

Today was visit Santa day. J was great. He brought his "Sears Wish Book" from Northern Mom with him. I told J he could only show Santa one page with something he wanted on it due to the line ups and restless children behind him. He showed Santa the 'hockey set'. The set that comes with a mat that looks like ice and two nets, sticks and balls. We were hoping he was still on the big net for the driveway as this set would take up the basement, but he wants the indoor set.

Santa was such a trooper, he is a gentle, friendly man, who lets so many kids cry sit and pull his real beard all day long, every day for the whole holiday season. And he even gave me two candy canes so I could enjoy some sugar too.

When I was a kid, my parents didn't take us to see Santa. It just didn't jive with our religious beliefs. I always knew Santa was a pretend character, but something in me always hoped that he was a little real. My Sister and I would leave out milk and cookies, just in case. And we would try to stay awake just in the off chance that he would fly over our house.

As the years have gone on I realize that Santa is very real in each and every one of us and it just depends on how the tradition is viewed. I am trying hard to teach J about both Santa and the reason we have Christmas to begin with. I want him have the love of giving that I have as well as the appreciation of the true birthday we are celebrating.

After our visit with Santa, I needed (ok, wanted) a Chai Latteé so J and I went to Second Cup (no Starbucks in that mall). We only went to see Santa, no shopping for me today as I wanted to get back home to rest. J wanted to buy a cookie for him and his cousin J2, so I said he could. The lady in front of me insisted I go before her so J would not get impatient. I told her it was ok, he was learning how to wait, but she insisted. I wanted to buy her coffee, but was shuffled along and moved to the side I couldn't find out what she was ordering. And couldn't figure out how to pay for it from the other side of the counter. I really wanted to do something nice, she was so sweet and pleasant, which is rare this time of year. But, when I turned around she was gone.

J and I headed out to the car and there was a Salvation Army Kettle with the Officer jingling his bells. J asked what he was doing, so I explained that he was collecting money for those who don't have any. J wanted to put money in the pot. I thought it was a great idea, so I gave J the money and he deposited in the kettle and I got to feel like I was paying it forward just a little today.