Happy New Year

Well, we're roughly seven hours away from the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007! We have no real plans for the evening. I don't think we've done the big New Year's Eve party thing since the kids were very little. The kids want to stay up to greet the new year, though whether or not they stay awake that long will remain to be seen. Casey had two friends over for a sleepover last night, while Sam and Abby slept over at their friends' house. I don't even know if I will be up that late as I have to work tomorrow at 8am. We'll see.

I picked up some appetizer type things for supper, and we have some chips and pop. Could you have a "party" without those staples? There is nothing of interest on TV and we haven't rented any videos. Maybe we'll all play some Wii sports...or some board games.

I am hoping to do some journaling yet tonight. It is my practice to reflect on the past year and express my goals for the new year. Once I get all that down on paper then I will share my thoughts here.

Christmas Photos

Sam holding his Mats Sundin rookie card-a most prized gift!

Casey with his build-a-Canuck-bear kit. He had seen one in a store before Christmas and desperately wanted it. He loves teddy bears and the Canucks.

Abby loved the robe she received from La Senza Girl. It is so soft and cuddly.

The turkey.

Maggie was curious to check out the gift-opening action but wasn't too excited about the treats in her Christmas stocking.

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Wiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!

We got a Wii!

Uncle Rick always gives me a chunk of money in which to buy the kids' Christmas presents on his behalf. This year, I was considering using that money to purchase the kids a Nintendo Wii game system rather than individual gifts; however, Wiis were virtually impossible to find in the stores and I wasn't willing to wait in line-ups all night in the hopes of acquiring one in time for Christmas. So, I gave the kids the option of receiving smaller, individual gifts from Uncle Rick or waiting for one larger gift at some point in the future. They easily deduced the gift I was talking about and opted to wait for a Wii even if it meant 6 months!

Casey received a Nintendo Gameboy for his birthday and had purchased some sort of adapter for it on Christmas eve from Toys R Us. It didn't work, so this morning we went to return it. We were barely able to enter the main doors because of the line-up at the return desk! We stood in line and waited and waited to return this adapter, but once it was our turn we were quickly a few dollars richer. The boys were interested in looking at some Gameboy games, so we went further into the store to their video department.

Imagine my surprise when I saw two gentlemen at the video check-out each with a Wii box under their arms. I got in line behind them and another customer anxious to inquire if there were anymore to be had, not seeing any on the shelves. Eventually, I asked one of the gentlemen if there were indeed Wiis, so he grabbed one out of a packing box beside the check-out for me! Yes! While I was paying for the Wii, another clerk was on the phone with someone looking for a Wii. There was only one left after my purchase!

The kids and I were so excited as we walked out of Toys R Us. I hadn't expected to find a Wii for at least a month yet, if not longer, and I certainly hadn't walked into the store today looking for one. But there it was and we now own one. It is so cool. I have already played tennis, bowling and a couple rounds of boxing. Talk about a workout!

Christmas Catch Up

Work was busier today than it was yesterday. It also seemed like most of our customers took stupid pills this morning. I don't know how to explain it. Maybe it is because Christmas is over or perhaps it is the weather...I don't know. It never fails to amaze me just how clueless some customers can be. In saying that I do realize that I have probably also been an ignorant or clueless customer at times. I am so glad to be done my shift and looking at a day off tomorrow!

We had a good Christmas. It was as quiet as it can be with three children, but at least we didn't have extra relatives to deal with all day. My brother, my sister and her two children came over for supper. It was disappointing that neither of Kane's brothers in town bothered to come by or even phone on Christmas day but it wasn't a surprise either. I think everyone enjoyed their gifts.

My kids surprised me a bit this year with their gifts for me. Usually, I get some candles because they have no idea what to get me on Christmas eve when Kane typically has time to take them shopping. This year, Kane took them shopping on the 23rd! I still got some candles from Casey, but they came in a nice set this time. I like them very much. Abby gave me a copper aromatherapy diffuser from the Body Shop with gingerbread and peppermint oils. Sam gave me a new body pillow. My old body pillow has become rather flat, so this new fluffy and firm one is well received. Kane got me a parafin wax hand spa thing. It melts the wax in which you dip your hands a few times. I tried it the other day and it was actually kind of neat. My hands looked like something out of a wax museum but it felt nice.

Kane is back to work today after seven weeks! He did well with his schooling. He hasn't received his final marks yet, but he's heard a rumour that he made the dean's list. Regardless, he scored well in all subjects.

I think the kids are already bored and they still have a week and a half of holidays.

I hope to put up some Christmas photos at some point in time.

Yesterday, Kane and I purchased a new stove. We will put our old one downstairs in my parents' suite when the suite is finished. The new one will be a smooth top convection oven. I am so excited and eager for it to arrive next week! I have wanted a convection oven since forever. We have been looking at ovens for a few weeks now knowing that we would need to purchase one sooner or later. Convection ovens are so much more expensive, but Future Shop has a great sale on one for their Boxing week sale. I think we saved about $350, so our total cost with extended warranty was still less than a regular priced one. It will also be so sweet to have a ceran top! No more messy drip pans to clean up !!!!

Merry Christmas

Twas the day before Christmas and all through our house...

I wish I could say that not a single creature was stirring but that would be a lie. In fact, today has been a day filled with parental stress focusing on one child...Casey. It started as we prepared for this morning's church service. He didn't want to go and put up a big stink about it. Once we got to church and settled into our seats, he noticed the communion table set up at the front of the sanctuary and declared that he was now old enough to take part. I disagreed. He didn't much like that answer and proceeded to argue with me about it. When I told him that he didn't know what it was about he told me that he did. His response was that people were hungry and didn't have a lot of food and something about four loaves of bread. I think he was a little confused! Any explanations as to our reasoning for denying his participation in communion were met with stubborn resistance and argument. It felt like we had taken part in a major war in the fifteen minutes before the service started.

The afternoon was only mildly better. Casey took great pleasure in tormenting his brother and vandalising Sam's property. Sam, of course, was upset. Casey pleaded innocence, of course, and tried to apply blame on his brother. Does he truly think that we can't see him do all these things? Or does he just think we're that stupid?

Then, it was time to get ready to go to the special Christmas eve service tonight. Once again, Casey put up a big argument over his attendance. He was told his presence was mandatory; he disagreed.

We're home now. It is 8:30 but we're just getting around to nibbling on some supper. The kids will be pushed into bed very soon; Abby is barely hanging on to consciousness anyway. I wonder if she is coming down with something. She doesn't have a fever, but she has been less active the past couple of days. However, she is determined to be healthy as she has a birthday party to attend on Boxing Day.

It will be at least another couple of hours before I crawl into bed. There are still stockings to fill and a few final things to tidy once the kids are in bed. As long as they are awake, mess simply follows after them like a shadow. Kane will do the last of the dishes and clean my kitchen yet tonight, then I think we're as ready as we're going to be. After all, Christmas day will come no matter what my house looks like or how many people will be coming for dinner or whether I feel very loving after a day of mental wrestling with my child. Isn't that so like God?! He works and moves in situations, in our lives regardless of where we're at, how we feel, or what we think we want.

God is good. All the time.

Merry Christmas!

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How You Life Your Life

You have a good sense of self control and hate to show weakness. You're laid back and chill, but sometimes you care too much about what others think. You prefer a variety of friends and tend to change friends quickly. You tend to dream big, but you worry that your dreams aren't attainable.

How Do You Live Your Life?

Thirteen Things on My 'To-Do Before Christmas' List



1. Keep the house tidy which is no simple task. Since the in-laws aren't coming to stay with us, I don't need to clean as deep or as far-reaching, but I still need to keep nagging the kids.

2. Buy a DQ cake on Saturday for Casey's birthday. I had thought that I would bake him a cake tomorrow, but I really don't want to do that now. I made cupcakes today for his class and a veggie platter for his class yesterday. Besides, he wants an ice cream cake.

3. Sew the pockets on my jacket. Both have been coming apart for a while, but one pocket snagged on the grocery cart this morning and ripped some more of the seam. Time to bring out the sewing box and do some stitching.

4. The turkey is already thawing in the refrigerator, but I still need to thaw the bulk sausage meat for the stuffing and the Cool Whip for the pumpkin pie. Yes, I am too lazy to make my own whipped cream.

5. I need to make pumpkin pies. Yummm!!!

6. Tomorrow, I guess I will need to wash the pots that are accumulating by my sink. Hand washing is something that I tend to avoid at the best of times but especially with my sore wrists; however, Kane has been too busy studying to help out as much as he usually does.

7. I am going to make cabbage rolls tomorrow for supper.

8. I'd like to think that I will bake some muffins for brunch Christmas morning which means actually baking them in advance, but I have a feeling that I'll cop out. If I did bake some, I would only make one kind and the kids wouldn't eat that kind. The alternative is to pick up a dozen at Tim Horton's on Sunday...and a variety, too!

9. Attend the Christmas Eve service at the church.

10. Get as much meal prep done on Sunday as I can. Things like chopping the onion and celery for the stuffing, slicing the pickles, trimming the Brussels sprouts, etc.

11. Fill the stockings well after the kids are asleep on Christmas eve.

12. Spend some time writing in my journal, if my wrists will cooperate.

13. Spend some time in the Word and in reflection of God's gift to mankind.



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All in the Family

A most unexpected person came to my door this afternoon. It was my aunt Kathy, my dad's sister. It is difficult to explain the family connections in a simple sentence because, while I can call her my aunt Kathy, I have not seen her for a very long time. Indeed, I believe that the last time I saw her was at my uncle Jerry's wedding in the fall of my grade 9 year. So what's the math on that...about twenty years ago! Oh my. (I am sooo old!)

I haven't seen my uncle Jerry since his wedding either. It's a convaluted and complicated story better saved for another time. Suffice it to say that it was a surprise to see her at my door, although she was here to drop off a Christmas card for my parents. She has changed a lot, but I recognized her before she had time to say who she was. We chatted for a few minutes. It was nice but strange. I felt disconnected and yet still bound by ties I wasn't sure still existed.

We also had a phone call tonight, unexpected and yet anticipated. It was Kane's brother calling to say that they would NOT be coming for Christmas after all. We weren't surprised in the least. I can't say that I am truly disappointed. As stressful and crazy as it would have been having them here, there was something to look forward to in having company for Christmas. However, I am relieved. My 'to do' list has just shrunk considerably! There is still lots to do in terms of cleaning and cooking, but I can ease up on the standards just a little and I don't need to make any big adjustments in order to accomodate three extra bodies and a dog. The kids won't need to give up their beds or share their space, so I don't need to be the wicked witch of the west when it comes to nagging them to clean their bedrooms. Instead of punishing my wrists by scrubbing the tub and walls, I can punish my wrists by baking cupcakes for Casey's class and bake and clean with more frequent and longer "rest" breaks. Having only two work shifts this week will be so much sweeter now that I don't have the spectre of in-laws coming to stay breathing down my neck.

Family. They make us who we are and. try as we might, we just can't completely separate ourselves from them. An acquaintance commented last night that family is best at a distance. There is some truth to that. We've seen and experienced enough family drama to keep the movie and book industries in business for a decade, but these people are still our family.

The Week Before Christmas

We've been busy. Sam had his band Christmas concert last Tuesday evening. Wednesday evening I took Casey shopping while Sam was at youth. Thursday and Friday, Abby had practice for the church Christmas musical. While she was at practice on Thursday, I took Sam shopping. I do believe that I have visited our mall more times in the past two weeks than I have in the past year! I worked on Saturday but was able to leave an hour early because we weren't too busy and my wrists were hurting. In the evening was Abby's first performance. The second was Sunday afternoon. Last night, Sam had his final hockey game of 2006.

A week until Christmas...I put the turkey into the fridge this afternoon to thaw. First though, I cleaned inside my fridge much to my wrists' dismay. Actually, my wrists won't be very happy with me for most of the week. There is just too much to do and not enough strong hands to do it. This is Kane's final week of school and he is spending every spare moment studying for the 9 tests he has yet to write. The in-laws are supposed to be coming on Friday now which gives me a couple extra days grace. My original work schedule was supposed to be Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but I passed off my Thurs./Fri. shifts to someone else. Not only will I appreciate more time to get stuff done at home, but it will allow me more time to rest my wrists. In theory anyway.

I went to the doctor last Friday rather than waiting until the new year. My thyroid levels are fine, so I guess that isn't the cause. I waited an hour to spend a grand total of 2 minutes with the doctor, but he is going to refer me to a specialist so I can get the nerve testing done. Now I just need to wait for the specialist to phone me to arrange an appointment. Somehow I doubt that this will happen very quickly considering that this is a holiday season, but at least the ball has begun rolling.

Slowly I am getting things done. I have a list nearly a full page long of things to do by Friday; only a few are scratched off but progress is progress. I just realized that I could scratch off two more items! Some of the tasks aren't my responsibility to complete, but they are on my list anyway. I am just the nag.

Abby did a great job in her role as Leah the midwife in the church program. I was a little worried. She's not the most vocal or outgoing person under normal circumstances, so I expected her to rush her lines or mumble, but she was loud and clear. We gave her a bouquet of flowers after yesterday's performance.

Thirteen little known Things about ME 1. In 6th grade, I was the lead actor in our school's Christmas play. My memory is a little sketchy, but I think it was called The Best Christmas Card Ever, or something to that effect. It was told the story of a family in search of the best Christmas card to give for the holidays. I wanted to be an angel or Mary, Jesus' mother, but those parts were given to other girls. Instead, I was given the role of the mom in the family which meant a lot of lines to learn and being on stage for virtually the entire performance. It is funny how differently we look at things years down the road. When I didn't get the part I wanted, I thought it was because the other girls were prettier and thus more deserving of being an angel. Being older and wiser, I know that looks had nothing to do with role allotments, but it is kind of ironic that I had a lead role. I am not a take charge, star of the show kind of person. 2. I have been involved in several music festival. In my elementary years, I performed a couple of solos, as well as a member of a choral group. In junior high, I think I performed one solo on the clarinet. Somewhere, in a box, I have the adjudicator's sheet from one of my vocal solos which I cannot find right this moment. I still remember Mrs. McCleary working with me on my breathing. The tempo was rather fast, so it was difficult to sing the words clearly and breathe without big gasps for air. 3. There are two tiny scars on the inside of my upper lip from a tobogganing accident in my 11th year of school. Our youth group was tobogganing on a hill that all the locals called Suicide Hill. For the prairies, it was a pretty big hill, and we were tobogganing at night. My sister and I were taking a turn down the hill on an inner tube (the only way to toboggan!). On our stomachs, head first. We were barreling along happy as could be until we saw two people standing in our path. One was a youth leader easily 250 lbs. and an EMT (very convenient!). The other was a teenage guy. There really wasn't enough time to do anything but shout and then my face connected with the knee of the youth leader. He flipped in the air and landed hard on his shoulder; it would prove to be dislocated. I'm not really sure what happened to me, but I found myself in the middle of the tube looking up at the night sky tasting blood. My sister and the other guy were both okay. I'm not even sure if they collided...come to think of it, I think my sister managed to bail out at the last moment. We all piled into the youth leader's truck and drove thirty minutes into town to the hospital. All I had to show for it was a fat lip and two little scars that won't go away. 4. I "broke" my left wrist late in the summer before my 11th year of high school. I say that with quotation marks because I always mix up the proper terms, and I can't even remember if the "breaks" were just cracks or chips or actual breaks. Yes, there were multiples but since no surgery was required, whatever the official terminology is, the damage must not have been too bad. How did it happen? Stupidity. Our youth group was having an all-nighter at the church (funny how the youth group is frequently the point of origin), and a bunch of us were hanging out in the gym. Some of us were just a little more literal about it. I thought it would be fun, cool, amusing to hang from the basketball net, and it was fun for the first dozen times or so. However, my hands began to sweat and the effort required to first get my hands up to the net resulted in a little swaying action. Put the two together and you have a recipe for disaster. My body swayed, my hands slipped and I dropped with my hands reaching back behind me to break my fall. Silly, silly me. Only my left arm wound up in a cast, but my other wrist was in just as much pain from a bad sprain. 5. When I was in second grade, I won a colouring contest put on by our city to celebrate its' birthday or some such thing. The picture to be coloured was of the city's mascot, Lignite Louie, a coal miner with a vague resemblance to Fred Flintstone. I grew up in the prairies and coal mining was big industry in our area. My picture was in the newspaper along with the other winners in different age groups. My prize was a t-shirt with Lignite Louie on it and maybe a hat, too. 6. In 7th and 9th grade, I ran cross-country at school. Our practice runs were tough, but nothing was tougher than our indoor course when it rained. It began with four laps of the gym and then running up and down the main staircase in the school which had five flights of stairs...all the way up and all the way down and then back into the gym for more laps and another set of stairs and laps and stairs. The highlight of our short cross-country season was a trip to Saskatoon (five hours away) for the annual Sled Dog Cross-Country Race. I don't remember how I did, though I think I did fairly well the first year, but we sure had a lot of fun swimming in the motel pool, watching Twisted Sister music videos on TV, and riding in a school bus full of teenagers for five hours. 7. Curling is a popular sport on the prairies, so what kind of prairie-raised kid would I be if I had never curled. Of course, we learned some curling from junior high up, but we also had opportunity to take part in curling after school. I did so in grade 7 and 9. Grade 7 was a terrible experience when it came to curling. The guys on my team were arrogant and ignorant and I hated every minute of it. By the time I was in grade 9, those guys had moved on to high school and I was interested in curling once again. Our school hosted an annual bonspiel (tournament) but hadn't had much success at it for some time. My team didn't win, but we finished third and only missed out on the final by a slight margin. We won trophies and had our picture in the paper. 8. In elementary school, I was the best dodgeball player! 9. I still have the Christmas gift that my grandpa gave me when I was 5 years old. It was a stuffed dog the colour of caramel with a long body. On the dog's belly was a zipper with two holes for little dials. Inside the zipper was a pocket which held a radio! It was so cool. I remember taking that dog to Grand Prairie one year when we went to visit my grandparents. I used Fritz, as I called the dog, for my pillow. The radio has long since disappeared, but Fritz is still with me, although he has been relegated to storage in the hope chest. He is nearly 30 years old! 10. I love bulldogs and have for many years now. My love for bulldogs began with professional wrestling and the tag team called the British Bulldogs. Davey Boy Smith and the Dynamite Kid were around before I really became interested in wrestling. My dad would watch Stampede Wrestling, so I had heard their names on many occasions. When they joined up with the WWF, now the WWE, I began to take an interest in wrestling. I've loved bulldogs ever since...even if I don't really care for wrestling anymore. 11. In high school, I took two years of cosmetology, not because I wanted to be a hairdresser, but because it seemed like a fun and easy elective. It was fun. How many classes are there where you can get a manicure or a facial or highlight your hair for free? It wasn't all fun. We learned a lot. I still really don't understand the concept of pincurls or fingerwaves, but I guess that's why I've never been much of a 'made up' kind of girl. I snipped my brother's ear one day as I was giving him a haircut. Oops. 12. My grade 9 Social Studies teacher was Mr. Galen Wahlmeier, a former Canadian Football League player with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. It sounds cooler than it was at the time. Our class was full of some pretty interesting characters that year, and we made that class one of interest to the principal on many occasions. 13. My first real job was working the bingo at our city's fair and exhibition. West Coast Amusements brought the rides and games but hired on a few locals to help with a few things. I was one of those temporary workers. For three days I called bingo numbers, collected money and handed out prizes. I made $150 for my time and spent it on acid-washed jeans and Reebok shoes. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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Band Concert

Sam is the trombone player in the back looking towards the camera.





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On Again?

Spoke too soon...it looks like the in-laws are now once again coming for Christmas.

O Christmas Tree!

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On Again, Off Again

They're not coming for Christmas now. We still don't really know much more than we were originally told, but at least my brother-in-law returned our phone calls last night. He denies having an affair but also said that he made a mistake and his wife has every right to be upset. In the same breath though, he said that his wife flies off the handle over every little thing.

(walks into padded room and lets loose a long, stress-relieving scream)

Soooo, the reason that they give for not coming is that their daughter has suddenly begun experiencing car-sickness.

While somewhat disappointing, we aren't surprised by their change of plans. I expected it even before my sister-in-law's little bombshell. At least we don't need to try and find a place for three more bodies to sleep!

Two Weeks Until Christmas

What would Christmas be without some family drama? Kane's brother is supposed to be coming to our place for Christmas along with his wife and daughter. Kane called a couple of nights ago for confirmation. Last night, we came home to a voice mail from my sister-in-law saying that she might not be coming along as she doesn't know whether she'll still be married to my brother-in-law! It seems that she has discovered that my brother-in-law has been having an affair. Two phone calls have gone unanswered which is pretty much standard operating procedure after they drop a bombshell on us. However, we need to know whether they are still coming next week or not. It doesn't matter whether it is their entire family or just two of them. We need to know. If they're not then I have to mail out Christmas gifts for our niece and I won't need to stress over sleeping arrangements in our crowded house.

Last night was my staff Christmas party. We went bowling. I know that I shouldn't have, but I did. I bowled. Since my wrists hurt regardless of what I do or don't do and I continue to work despite the pain, I figured that I may as well bowl through the pain, too. Silly, I know. For fun, I bowled a few frames with my left hand (and to share the extra pain with both arms). I expected to do quite poorly with my left hand, but I wasn't too shabby and even got a strike! How cool was that?!

We went out and purchased our Christmas tree yesterday after church from the same local farmer that we always buy from. It's the perfect tree for our space. Casey and Abby had their hearts set on the same type of tree but smaller, too small really for the space we have. Heartless mother that I am, I vetoed their choice and chose the same kind of tree only taller. I love it! Maybe I'll post some pictures later.

I think that I am pretty much finished shopping and almost everything has been wrapped. There's a few little things to be picked up, but the bulk has been done. Yeah!

My wrists still hurt. They hurt most of the time, but the pain is definitely worse when I am at work or doing a task that requires a lot of hand effort. I am still wearing my wrist supports at night. It sucks. I try not to use that expression very often, but it sums up my sentiments quite nicely. There is something very frustrating about invisible pain. I know the pain that I am in, but most people won't know that I am in pain unless I draw attention to myself. I tend to go through life trying to avoid having a spotlight on me, so I typically do my best to keep my whimpering to a minimum and to smile through the pain. Literally and figuratively. In a way, I think it would be better if I had a broken limb or a surgical scar that could be noticed by others. Instead, while at work, I might say that my arms hurts or that slicing bagels for 15 minutes is too hard on my wrists, but I always wonder whether I am being taken seriously. Do they really understand just how much pain and discomfort I am in, or do they think that I am exaggerating? Can I still function? Yes. Could I still slice a bagel? Yes. It just hurts to do so. Thankfully, most of my shifts are only 4-5 hours. Four hours is long enough to have my wrists screaming at me, but it is still short enough to give me a reprieve just when I think I can't take anymore. It is my Saturday shifts that are 8 hours of torture.

Christmas Treats

My brother-in-law dropped by yesterday to give me money to do his Christmas shopping for my kids. He also gave me this:

Isn't it cool! He found it somewhere and knew that I collected Coke stuff, so he gave it to me...just because. I love it. Sam hates it.

These are the candy cane cookies (and a few wreaths) that I made on Tuesday. I hadn't planned on making wreaths, but I hadn't planned on making a food colouring mistake either. I divided my dough into two bowls: one to leave as it was, the other to colour red. However, without thinking about it, I grabbed the green food colouring and added it to the dough. I realized my mistake as the green liquid was splashing all over the dough. So, I made wreaths, but the uncoloured dough was not cooperating with my attempts to roll it. It kept crumbling and flaking. I tried giving it some extra kneading without success. Since I was having no problems with the green dough, I decided to colour the other bowl of dough to see if that solved my problem. I went with red, made candy canes and had no more problems!

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Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things about Christmas Tree Ornaments 1…. I no longer use all the ones that I have; I want new ones. My tastes have changed over the years, and many of my ornaments are broken. 2. We always put an angel on the top of our tree. My mom made it out of lace and ribbon. 3. I believe that my mom still has some of the Christmas ornaments that I made as a child. I remember one year in school, we used dough to shape ornaments, baked them and painted them. I made a baby Jesus and a Care Bear. 4. Some of my favourite ornaments are the simplest. Small lace doilies hanging as snowflakes. Homemade "gingerbread" stars. Mittens made with felt, hot glue and buttons. 5. We have two McDonald's Christmas ornaments from the two years that Kane managed the Westbank McDonald's. They are cute but too heavy to hang on most of the trees we choose. 6. I always put white mini lights on our tree. Kane would like coloured ones, but I think the white ones look so much prettier. 7. I was sorely tempted to buy myself a Coca-Cola ornament last night. It looked like a Coke bottle about 4-5" tall. There was also an ornament that looked like a can of diet Coke. I resisted temptation though. 8. I do already have a Coca-Cola ornament, but it is one of the broken ones. It has two little elves holding onto an old-fashioned soda fountain-style Coke glass. The elves have broken off, or at least parts of the elves. 9. I did buy three ornaments last night, one for each of the kids. 10. For Sam, I bought a little pair of hockey skates! They are really heavy though, so they will need a strong branch to support them. 11. For Casey, I bought a baseball catcher figure. Obviously, Sam loves hockey and Casey loves baseball. Sam also loves baseball, but hockey is his thing. 12. For Abby...this was a tougher one. I ended up buying a snowman made out of baseballs. It is cute and I think she'll love it. She also plays baseball and yet this ornament is still fun enough for a girl. 13. No tinsel. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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Rearranging

Yesterday's photos were from a Christmas cookie baking day with my girlfriends on Sunday. The cookies shown were the latte cookies that I made. Today, I made some candy cane cookies to add to the cookie collection I have acquired for the holidays. There is a big part of me that really wants to make my rolled ginger cookies (similar to gingerbread but milder). I make those cookies every year and let the kids help decorate them after; however, I am struggling to find enough motivation to actually do it. As of last night, I was prepared to make the dough this morning, even took the butter out to soften. This morning, I put the ginger cookies off in order to do the candy cane cookies first, and now my wrists are too sore and I am no longer motivated. There's still time to do it another day. Abby will be disappointed until she sees the candy cane cookies.

We have decided to get a Christmas tree this coming weekend, which means that I took some time this morning to move some furniture around in the living room. Now my back is a little sore, too, and I feel old. But, I think there is enough room for a tree once the hope chest is moved...that can wait until closer to the weekend.

Sam's team tied their hockey game this past Sunday night. So, in regular league play, we are still undefeated! However, there was some bad news after the game. We have a new player on the team (not the bad news); a player from one of the weakest teams in the division. In return, our hockey association has declared that a certain player from our team must play for that other team. Needless to say, there isn't anyone on our team happy with that decision. There is so much going in that situation that I can't do it justice on a blog, but it is insane. The league had informed parents that trades could be made up until the end of October in order to balance teams. Fine. It is now December! The weak team's coach left halfway through the meeting where the teams were picked and let a different coach pick the rest of his players. Stupid move. Of course, the coach who picked weaker players for this absentee coach has a team that has only lost one game (to us), so why are they determined to trade one of our players instead of from this other strong team?! Our team's parents brainstormed several weeks ago when talk first started about a trade, and we came up with quite a few proactive and logical alternatives to what is now expected to happen. The boy from our team who is to be traded does not want to go play on this team and would rather quit than be forced to play on a team with a boy who makes his life miserable. Our great and powerful hockey executive have decreed that if our player does not "report" to this other team then he will not be allowed to play hockey at all. And just how does that attitude benefit minor hockey or the kids who want to have fun and play hockey? This is house league, not rep and certainly not the pros. The root of this problem is in the way evaluations and the team drafts are done, and that is where the fixes need to be. You can't break up a team at this point in the season, especially in the way it is being done. There are very few coaches or parents from any of the other teams who are on board with the executive on this decision. Unfortunately, our hockey executive seems to be on a power trip.

I also must say that we are very blessed with an incredible set of parents on Sam's team this year. We have had good and bad coaches and parents over the years, but this set is most likely the best yet. We even have good kids on the team! It is refreshing and wonderful.

Cookie Day

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Winter is Here

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike2.5 Canada License.